Islamic Courts Union spokesman Abdurahim Isse Adow told reporters in Mogadishu Friday that al-Shabab has created a hit-list of prominent government members and their supporters.

VOA: standard.2009.04.17

He says his group believes Somali parliament member Abdullahi Isse Abtidoon, who was killed near his home in northern Mogadishu Wednesday, and senior Islamic Courts commander Sharif Mohamud "Karey,"

VOA: standard.2009.04.17

In a deal backed by the United Nations, a moderate leader of the Islamic Courts Union, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, was elected president of the Mogadishu-based Somali government earlier this year.

VOA: standard.2009.09.16

Mogadishu has never liked the transitional government, even before the Islamic Courts Union took over Mogadishu.

NPR: Government Tries to Bring Elusive Order to Somalia

After talks in Cairo last month, some Islamists, including former hardliners, broke with the Shabaab and indicated a willingness to accept the Somali government if there were a mechanism for the phased withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops who have been stationed in Mogadishu since the fall of the Islamic Courts government.

ECONOMIST: Somalia's fighting

It certainly was conservative six months ago when the Islamic Courts Union took over Mogadishu and much of Southern Somalia.

NPR: Leading Member of Islamic Courts Held in Kenya