MOGADISHU, June 4: At least 15 people were killed and dozens wounded on Sunday when Somali Islamic fighters seized a key town after heavy clashes with gunmen allied to a US-backed warlord alliance.

Columns of heavily-armed Islamic fighters surrounded and pounded Balad township around 30 kilometers north of Mogadishu, as militiamen loyal to the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT) fled to safety, witnesses and militia commanders said.

Fifteen people, mostly militiamen, were killed and dozens wounded in the battle, bringing the death toll from clashes in the town and outlying villages to 34 over the past four days, doctors said.—AFP