Somalia's newly powerful Islamists expressed their condolences on Saturday to the family of a Swedish cameraman shot dead during a rally in Mogadishu and said they made three more arrests in their hunt for the killer. Islamic Courts Union (ICU) Chairman Sheikh Sharif Ahmed blamed the attack on those who wanted to destabilize Mogadishu, weeks after its new Islamist rulers said they had pacified one of the world's most lawless cities after 15 years of anarchy.Martin Adler was shot dead at the front of a crowd of thousands while filming a protest led by the ICU on Friday. "The Islamic courts are very sorry for the killing and we send our condolences to the family and colleagues," Ahmed told a news conference, adding that they would find those responsible.
Nairobi-based ICU spokesman Abdurahman Ali Osman said three more people had been arrested in connection with the shooting and a woman arrested on Friday was still being questioned. Osman said on Friday the ICU blamed the shooting on followers of a lesser-known warlord, Abdi Awale Qaybdiid, who stayed in Mogadishu despite the Islamists' takeover. He later said this was not certain but added that Qaybdiid had been told to cooperate or would be "attacked".