Somali Islamist rebel group al-Shabab has confirmed for the first time that its fighters are aligned with al-Qaeda's global militant campaign. In a statement, the group said that the jihad of Horn of Africa must be combined with the international jihad led by the al-Qaeda network. The group's statement also announced that its militants had joined forces with a smaller insurgent group called Kamboni. <br/><br/>Al-Shabab said it was trying to unite all Islamist forces to create a Muslim state under its hard-line interpretation of Sharia law. Meanwhile in Mogadishu reports said at least eight civilians were killed in fighting overnight. A health official officials said eight bodies of civilians who were killed in the shelling were collected and 55 others were injured, some of them seriously. Militants had launched an artillery attack on the presidential compound, and government and African Union forces responded with several mortar shells.