Ethiopian planes attack retreating Islamists - witness

MOGADISHU, Dec 26 (Reuters) Two Ethiopian jets fired missiles on Islamist fighters retreating from the town of Buur Hakaba which pro-government forces took overnight, a witness said today.

''They attacked heavily in the last 30 minutes. I can confirm three dead,'' an Islamist fighter said of what would be the third day of air-strikes by Ethiopian planes backing the interim Somali government in a war with Mogadishu-based Islamists.

He said the dead were Islamist fighters who had retreated to the town of Leego, whose residents had fled the aerial bombardment. He said there were four wounded.

The latest air assault came a day after Ethiopian fighter jets hit two Islamist-held airfields, including one in the capital Mogadishu in a symbolic first strike on the movement's stronghold.

A week of heavy artillery and mortar duels between Islamists and the Ethiopian-backed secular government has spiralled into open war that both sides say has killed hundreds.

Reuters MS VV1455