Mogadishu, Somalila 8 December 2007 - Somali militants have reportedly seized Bule Burte, a town in central Somalia after a brief battle with government troops, officials say.

The militants took Bule Burte town, 220 km north of the capital Mogadishu. It was not clear if there were casualties, witnesses said.

"It is true that Islamists captured Bule Burte, but they will not last there. The government will fight them and will liberate the town from the enemy," Yusuf Ahmed Hagar, government chairman of Hiraan province, told the media.

"Islamist fighters seized the town. They fought and easily defeated government troops. We are now under the rule of the Islamists," a local resident said.

In another separate incident, three civilians and two troops were killed when an Ethiopian convey came under attack in the north of Somali capital, press TV correspondent reported from Mogadishu.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since a group of warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

Source: JR/RA