In the message she left before heading off to an Israeli checkpoint where she detonated the explosive-laden vest hidden under her clothes, Reem al-Riashi, said she hoped "parts of my body can fly all over". Abdullahi Yusuf is elected President and Ali Mohammed Ghedi isPM* November 2005: Ghedi blames assassination attempt on Islamist rivals* March-May 2006: Hundreds die in fighting. Often there is a message, videotaped the night before they embark on their mission to kill. Somalia - a violent history * October 1993: Five US Army Rangers are killed in a failed mission to capture Mohamed Aidid, a Somali warlord wanted by the UN* February 1995: UN peacekeepers pull out of Somalia* August 1996: Mohamed Aidid dies and is succeeded by his son Hussein Mohamed Aidid* October 2000: President Abdulkassim Salat Hassan and Prime Minister Ali Khalif Gelayadh try to form government, but fighting breaks out in April* October 2002: A ceasefire is signed* December 2004: Agreement to set up parliament. We are ready to talk to them in order to prevent further suffering of the innocent Somalian people."Comparisons have been made between Somalia and Afghanistan, with both countries experiencing the presence of warlords, Muslim fundamentalists, foreign interference and failed economies.

Analysts were yesterday likening the triumph of the Islamists in Mogadishu to the Taliban takeover of the Afghan capital Kabul. Mogadishu resident Ibrahim Rashid said: "We all want peace, but do not want to see extreme laws being put into place here. We do not want where that will lead."Somalia's supposed rulers, the Transitional Federal Government, cannot get into Mogadishu and have set up headquarters in internal exile, at the provincial town of Baidoa.Its President, Abdullahi Yusuf, has bitterly complained that American support for the warlords was severely undermining his government's chances of gaining power.Abdirahman Dinari, a spokesman for the interim government, said: "I hope the Islamic courts will realise the importance of the government and talk to us. This is good news for us because the warlords were always taking part in battles. We are now looking forward to a life without fighting."Another resident, Mohammad Asser, added: "The era of warlords in Somalia is over. This morning Mogadishu is under only one hand, the Islamic courts."Others, however, were worried about the application of Muslim fundamentalist laws and regulations.

Ali Abdikadir, who lives in south Mogadishu, said: "They said they would work with residents to improve security in the capital. He is said to have left Mogadishu two days ago after elders asked him to desist from the extensive use of mortars, rockets and artillery which had caused a huge number of civilian casualties.The victorious Islamists announced their triumph in a radio broadcast. However, Commander Ali Nur, who has been acting as their spokesman simply said: "We have no immediate plans now. Most of our leaders appear to have fled from Mogadishu to Jowhar." The town was among those from where the UN pulled out its staff last night.After fierce house-to-house fighting in the past few weeks in which Islamists have systematically smashed their way through enemy positions, the final takeover of the capital took place relatively quietly with the capture of Daynille, the last warlord stronghold in the city.Daynille was the base of Mohamed Qanyare, supposedly one of the foremost recipients of US aid. They took over the town of Balad, 30 miles away, a strategic junction which controls the route to Jowhar, where the bulk of the warlord troops had fled.Some warlords claimed that the forces were regrouping to launch a counter-attack and retake the capital. The US has claimed that Somalia has become al-Qa'ida's headquarters for the Horn of Africa, where attacks were planned on Western targets in neighbouring countries.Some of the warlord forces were yesterday crossing the border into Kenya, which has its own problems with Muslim fundamentalism, leading to fears that the Somalian conflict may destabilise neighbouring countries.The Islamist militias were consolidating their positions just outside the capital. The policy had led to dissent within the US administration, and the comprehensive defeat of the warlords showed, said critics, that it was fundamentally flawed.The gains made by Islamists, who want sharia law to be established throughout Somalia, will also have wider ramifications to the region.