The Somalia-based al-Shabab extremist group says it has executed five men accused of spying for the Kenyan, Ethiopian and Somali governments. Al-Shabab announced the killings on its Andalus radio station, saying they were carried out in a public square in Kuntuwarey town in Lower Shabelle region late last night.

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Witnesses say the men were tied to poles and shot dead by masked gunmen after a self-proclaimed judge read out their verdict in front of a crowd at the execution ground. Al-Shabab, al-Qaida's East African affiliate, has fought for years to impose a strict version of Islam in the Horn of Africa nation. Despite losing territory in recent years, the group continues to carry out lethal attacks in many parts of the country, especially Mogadishu. An October bombing there killed 512 people.