Gunmen loyal to Somalia's hardline Islamic courts on Monday stormed a video studio in the Somalian capital of Mogadishu, where steamy Bollywood films were being translated, destroying equipment and arresting employees, witnesses said.

At least six employees were taken away when dozens of heavily armed militiamen, claiming that the operation violated Muslim teachings, raided the Al-Fiqi studio in the northern Mogadishu district of Hamarweyne, they said.

The gunmen smashed television monitors and dubbing machines and seized cash in the attack, during which the owner was warned against re-starting his business specialising in translating foreign films, they said.

He said the gunmen detained six people, one of whom was later released because of his advanced age and poor health, and stole 15 million Somali shillings ($3000).

The confiscated videos were not pornographic but rather "romantic" Bollywood films that the militiamen said contained explicit scenes of sex and dancing that violate Islamic moral standards, Haji said.

Witnesses said that the gunmen were affiliated with Islamic courts in Mogadishu headed by the firebrand cleric Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who has long advocated that Somalia become an Islamic state.

Militia loyal to his courts have become increasingly vocal and moved to enforce strict Islamic Sharia law in and around the capital to fill a power vacuum that exists in the country.

In early October, the militia vowed to take tough measures against Somalis who refuse to fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and have recently attacked shops selling alcohol.
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