Islamic extremists kill Somalian church leader, torch house

Islamic militants in Somalia tracked down an underground church leader who had previously escaped a kidnapping attempt and killed him, Christian sources said.

Islamic extremist al-Shabaab rebels shot Madobe Abdi to death March 15 in Mahaday village, 31 miles north of Johwar. He had escaped an al-Shabaab attempt to kidnap him March 2.

In February, on the outskirts of Mogadishu, alleged members of the government-aligned Islamic Courts Union set fire to the house of an underground church member they suspected of having left Islam.

The assailants looted the home before setting it on fire. Area residents tried to extinguish the blaze, which left the house uninhabitable. (CD)