Grenade kills Somali soccer fans

The match finished 0-0

Three Somali football fans have died after a grenade was thrown into the cinema where they were watching a match between Manchester United and Chelsea.

It is not clear why the hand grenade was thrown - some reports say it followed an argument between rival fans, others blame local residents.

English and Italian football are hugely popular among young Somalis.

Local makeshift cinemas charge about 30 US cents to fans to watch games broadcast live on satellite television.

The victims were among 160 fans watching the Carling Cup semi-final first leg between the two English giants at a cinema in the Bulo Hubey district in the south of the captial, Mogadishu.

No police

Two young boys died on the spot and eight others were rushed to Madina Hospital, where another died immediately.

Nurses in the hospital told the BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan that two of the wounded were in a critical condition.

The owner of the cinema, Abdi Nasir Ali Ganey, said he knew neither who was behind the incident nor the reason for it.

Facts and figures about life in Somalia

At-a-glance

Local resident Farah Said said the incident resulted from a dispute between a Manchester United and Chelsea fan inside the cinema.

"Two young men supporting rival teams - one of them armed with a pistol - first fought inside the cinema before one of them ran out of his home to get a gun, but instead he took a hand grenade and threw into the cinema," he said.

Our correspondent says that some local residents believe that the owners of other nearby cinemas may be responsible - envying the popularity of this football cinema.

He says that in a country where there are no national security agencies it is very difficult to investigate and verify the cause of incidents like these.