Somali Islamist rebel group al-Shabab has confirmed for the first time that its fighters are aligned¹ with al-Qaeda's global militant² campaign.

索马里伊斯兰叛乱者团体沙巴布第一次证实其战士与基地组织全球军事活动结盟。

Al-Shabab wants its hard-line brand of Sharia introduced all over the country

The group said in a statement that the "jihad讨伐异教徒，拥护运动 of Horn of Africa must be combined with the international jihad led by the al-Qaeda network".

Meanwhile, several people have died in fighting in Mogadishu摩加迪休 after government troops shelled militant positions.

Islamist insurgents叛乱分子 control much of southern and central Somalia.

The government, which is backed by the UN and African Union, holds sway支配，通知 only in a small part of Mogadishu.

Despite repeated accusations⁵ by the US that al-Shabab is linked to al-Qaeda, the group denied the connection in a recent interview with the BBC.

The BBC Somali service's Mohamed Mohamed says it is the first time the group has officially confirmed its fight is linked to al-Qaeda.

'Financer of terrorism'

The group's statement also announced that its militants⁶ had joined forces with a smaller insurgent³ group called Kamboni.

The group, based in the southern town of Ras Kamboni, was previously⁷ allied⁸ to Hizbul-Islam - another militant group fighting the government.

Kamboni is led by Hassan Turki, a militant the US accuses of being a "financer金融家，财政家 of terrorism".

Al-Shabab said it was trying to unite all Islamist forces to create a Muslim state under its hard-line interpretation⁹解释，翻译 of Sharia law.

The group, which controls swathes带子，绷带 of Somalia, has carried out public beheadings斩首 and stonings磨刀，河床铺石.

'Human shields'

Meanwhile in Mogadishu reports said at least eight civilians¹¹ were killed in fighting overnight.

"Our team collected eight bodies of civilians who were killed in the shelling炮击 and 55 others who were injured, some of them seriously," health official Ali Musa told the AFP news agency.

Militants had launched an artillery¹²大炮，火炮 attack on the presidential compound建筑物, and government and African Union forces responded with several mortar迫击炮，灰泥 shells.

AFP法新社 quoted an unnamed police official accusing the rebels of hiding in civilian¹⁰ areas and using "human shields人肉盾牌".

Somalia has been wracked彻底破坏 by violence for much of the past 20 years. It has not had a functioning central government since 1991.