At least six people were killed and more than 15 wounded in a drive-by attack in Mogadishu's Hariryale suburb on Monday night, Mogadishu newspapers and international news agencies reported.

AFP put the number killed at nine, quoting an Islamic court official; and AP report "at least 20" wounded. Gunmen aboard a pickup armed with an anti-aircraft gun - locally known as a "technical" - strafed a residential street, firing indiscriminately at people shopping in kiosks.

Residents of the area blamed a militia commander, Bashir Raghe, claiming it may be an attack to avenge the death of two of his fighters in an ambush by rivals on Sunday night, reported AFP. Bashir Raghe is loyal to north Mogadishu faction leader, Ali Mahdi Mohammed. Raghe denied involvement in the attack to AP. Witnesses told AP one of Shirar's men was killed and two others wounded in a weekend shooting in Hariryale.

Hariryale was reported calm on Tuesday, but commercial vehicles avoided the area.

The Islamic court is investigating the incident, in the absence of a functioning police force, and the Doctor Ismail Human Rights Organisation condemned the violence describing it as an act of terrorism, reported AFP.

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