A CHILDREN’S competition run by a Somali radio station featured hand grenades and AK-47 rifles among the top prizes for Koran-reciting and general knowledge.

Andulus radio, which is run by the al-Shabab Islamist group, chose four children between the ages of 10 and 17 for the competition, which was held during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

First prize in the Ramadan competition was an AK-47 rifle and the equivalent of €500. The second prize-winners received an AK-47 and €360, while the third prize was two hand grenades and €290. The winners also got religious books

Al-Shabab official Mukhtar Robow said at the prize-giving ceremony: “Youths should use one hand for education and the other for a gun to defend Islam.”

This year's contest featured questions like "which war was Sheik Timajilic (a famous Shabab warrior) killed in?"

Al-Shabab has previously been linked to Al-Qaeda and controls much of southern and central Somalia.

According to the BBC, this is the third year the contest has been held.

In previous years, when the competition was organised in the southern port of Kismayo, the first prize included an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade launcher).