The joint Ethiopian army and forces of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government killed 71 Somali rebels in a recent military operation launched in Meteban and Gura'el areas in central Somalia, state media reported.

The operation was carried out on June 29, the official Ethiopian News Agency reported, quoting a military spokesperson as saying.

The rebels, killed in the operation, were from the Union of Islamic Council and al-Shebab (The Youth) outfit, it said, adding that 13 of them are members of the leadership.

The rest ran away in disarray and numerous artillery were captured from the rebels and their patrol vehicle burnt, the report said.

Ethiopian troops crossed over to Somalia in late 2006 to assist Somali transitional government forces topple an Islamist administration in south and central Somalia.

Somalia has been without a strong central government since the toppling of Somalia's former ruler Mohamed Siyad Barre in 1991.

(Xinhua News Agency July 5, 2008)