Heavy artillery used in land battle

MOGADISHU- - Clan militias used tanks, rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles to battle for control of grazing land and water for livestock, killing at least 15 fighters in central Somalia, witnesses said on Thursday.

The clash between members of the Sa'ad and Suleman factions of the Habar Gidir clan broke out on Wednesday afternoon about control of several small towns in the arid Mudug and Galgudud regions of anarchic Somalia, according to a militia commander and an aid worker who were present during the fighting.

The two sides have fought several times for control of the region. It was not immediately clear what sparked the latest conflict.