* Sustained clashes in southern Somalia
By Abdi Sheikh
MOGADISHU, May 5 (Reuters) - Somalia's al Shabaab insurgents have killed a senior commander of the government-allied Ahlu Sunna militia, militia officials said on Thursday, as fighting continued for control of border towns in southern Somalia.
Sheikh Hassan Qoryoley, the highest ranking officer from the moderate sufi militia fighting in the south of the Horn of Africa country, was wounded when his vehicle struck a land mine on Tuesday.
He died while flying to the Kenyan capital Nairobi for medical treatment. Ahlu Sunna vowed it would not be swayed from its efforts to help defeat the al Qaeda-affiliated militants.
"This will not reduce our efforts to eradicate the al Qaeda-linked group. Instead, it will motivate us to advance our frontlines and revenge the death," Mohamed Hussein Awliyo, a British-born Somali member of Ahlu Sunna, told Reuters.
It was not clear whether Qoryoley was deliberately targeted.
His death and the sustained fighting underscore the belief of diplomats and analysts considering the future of al Qaeda's affiliates following the death of Osama bin Laden that al Shabaab will remain a potent fighting force. [ID:nLDE74317K]
A government-led offensive earlier this year in Mogadishu and along Somalia's border with Kenya and Ethiopia drove al Shabaab out of several towns.
That offensive appeared to fizzle out in early March as a power struggle escalated among the country's politicians, and there have been further clashes in the south since.
In Garbaharey, where Qoryoley's forces on Monday repelled advancing al Shabaab fighters, residents removed about 30 corpses littering the streets, including a number of women and children, a local cleric said.
An Ahlu Sunna spokesman said 25 al Shabaab fighters were killed. There was no immediate comment from al Shabaab. (Additional reporting by Sahra Abdi in Nairobi; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by David Clarke and Sonya Hepinstall) (For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: af.reuters.com)
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