MOGADISHU, Somalia June 7 (Garowe Online) - The rebel chief of Somali Islamist faction Hizbul Islam has said told VOA Somali Service that he is alive and well, Radio Garowe reports.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the Hizbul Islam chief, was quoted on Sunday as saying that he is healthy and pledged to speak with the media tomorrow, according to a VOA Somali Service report.

Somali and international media, including Garowe Online and Reuters, reported that Sheikh Aweys was wounded in fierce clashes in the central Somali region of Galgadud.

Upwards of 120 people, mostly fighters, were killed in the clashes between pro-government Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamee'a faction and the anti-government rebel groups, Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam.

Rebel forces have claimed victory during Friday's deadly clashes, claiming that they took control of Wabho town in El Bur district of Galgadud where the fighting took place.

Government officials and Ahlu Sunnah militia commanders have not spoken publicly about the battles.

Sheikh Aweys is a well-known Somali Islamist leader who has fought in numerous wars since the eruption of the Somali civil war in 1991.

He is the former ally of current Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, as the two men were the twin heads of the Islamic Courts Union that rose to fame in mid-2006 after defeating Mogadishu's notorious warlords.

Source: Garowe Online