MOGADISHU, Somalia Oct 3 (Garowe Online) - A senior military official with Somalia's ousted Islamic Courts movement distanced his group from a recent conference in Eritrea where Somali opposition groups merged.

Abu Mansur Robow, who was the Islamists' deputy defense secretary, told Mogadishu radio Wednesday that his group, al Shabaab, has "nothing to do" with opposition figures in the Eritrean capital Asmara.

A group composed of dissident former government members, Islamic Courts officers and Diaspora activists formed a united front in Asmara known as the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS).

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the Islamists' supreme leader, attended the conference. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who was the Islamic Courts' executive head, was elected last month as chairman of the ARS.

But Robow said the Islamists' al Shabaab wing is "not satisfied" with the Asmara conference where the ARS was established.

He said attacks on Somali and Ethiopian soldiers in Mogadishu will continue.

"Two of our martyrs died in last night's battles against the Ethiopian enemy," Robow said, adding that he saw at least 5 dead Ethiopian soldiers.

His account could not be verified. But Somali officials claimed government troops killed 13 insurgents and captured several others when a military base was attacked.

Source: Garowe Online