JOWHAR, Somalia Nov 13 (Garowe Online) - At least five civilians were killed Thursday when unknown gunmen opened fire on a passenger bus traveling from Mogadishu to neighbor Middle Shabelle region, witnesses said.

Another eight people were wounded during the onslaught in Mahaday district of Middle Shabelle, a region under the control of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU).

“Bullets started randomly and the attackers robbed us after the driver died,” said one of the surviving passengers.

Medical sources at the main hospital in Jowhar, the capital of Middle Shabelle, told Radio Garowe that some of the wounded persons are in “critical condition” and may require emergency surgery.

Sheikh Dahir Addow Alasow, the ICU's regional chief in Jowhar, said security forces are hunting for the criminals, whose whereabouts remain unknown.

The dangerous road linking Middle Shabelle to Hiran region has been the scene of fierce fighting among rival sub-clans in recent months, but it is not clear whether or not the clan violence played a role in the passenger killings.

Somalia, in the Horn of Africa, has been ruled by warlords and clan militia since the collapse of the country's last national government in 1991.

Source: Garowe Online