NAIROBI (Reuters) - Somali Islamists are under the growing control of an al Qaeda cell in East Africa, a U.S. diplomat said on Thursday, as Washington condemned their threat to attack Ethiopian troops backing Somalia's interim government."The Council of Islamic Courts is now controlled by al Qaeda cell individuals, East Africa al Qaeda cell individuals. The top layer of the court are extremists. They are terrorists," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer told reporters. "They are killing nuns, they have killed children and they are calling for a jihad (holy war)," she added.
The Islamists, who seized the Somali capital Mogadishu in June and are vying with the weak transitional government for control of the lawless country, have denied having foreign fighters in their ranks.