Militants control key Somali port

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Islamic militants said Saturday they had seized control of Somalia’s third-largest city after three days of fighting that left about 70 people dead and saw thousands flee Kismayo.

The Islamic courts movement, which controlled the capital, Mogadishu, and much of the south for six months in 2006, said it wrested control of the southern port city of Kismayo from clan militias.

About 70 people were killed during the fighting that started Wednesday and 170 were wounded, said Dr. Ali Hassan of Kismayo Hospital.

Nicole Engelbrecht, a spokeswoman with the International Committee of the Red Cross, said Saturday an additional 135 people were reportedly injured in fighting in Afmadow, 70 miles northwest of Kismayo. The ICRC delivered two tons of medical supplies to Kismayo Hospital on Saturday, she said.

In a separate development, two foreign journalists — a Canadian woman and an Australian man — were kidnapped while traveling near Mogadishu on Saturday, Somali government officials said.

A report on the Web site of Canada’s National Post identified the woman as 27-year-old Amanda Lindhout. The report quoted her father, John Lindhout, as saying she had recently arrived in the country with an Australian friend who was also kidnapped.

The report said Amanda Lindhout had contacted Global National, a Canadian newscast, by e-mail saying she had packaged segments from Ethiopia and Kenya and was going to Somalia to “report on the deteriorating security situation as well as the food crisis.”