MOGADISHU, Somalia — A resident of a Somali town says that al-Qaida-linked militants have killed two men by firing squad for allegedly spying for the Somali government and the African Union military force.

The resident, who gave his name only as Mohammed, said dozens of residents watched as masked militants from al-Shabab killed the two men late Thursday in the town of Bararwe, in southern Somalia.

A self-proclaimed judge for the group read out the verdict against the two men. The judge said the two men had admitted to charges of spying.

Al-Shabab's ad-hoc courts often carry out executions and other draconian punishments like amputations.

The ultra-conservative al-Shabab militant group lost control of Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, in 2011 but still holds sway in large parts of rural southern Somalia.