London, June 26 : In an appalling incident in the Somalian capital, Mogadishu, pro-Al Queda insurgents on Thursday used a machete to slice off a hand and a foot from each of four men accused of stealing mobile phones and guns.

The men screamed in pain, as some 300 spectators were compelled to watch the slaughter by the al-Shabaab fighters. Some of the onlookers even vomited while the amputations were in progress.

An ad-hoc court set up by the hardline al-Shabaab movement had earlier this week found the men, aged 18 to 25, guilty of stealing mobile phones and guns from residents in several Mogadishu suburbs.

"We have carried out this sentence under the Islamic religion and we will punish like this everyone who carries out these acts," The Scotsman quoted al-Shabaab official Sheikh Ali Mohamud Fidow, as saying.

The punishments, which leading international human rights groups pleaded unsuccessfully with al-Shabaab to forego, have sent tremors through western diplomatic and intelligence communities.

Al-Shabaab openly expresses its support for al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, although intelligence sources said it has proved hard to identify what its formal links are to al-Qaeda. (ANI)