MOGADISHU (AFP) -- A British school teacher, her two female Kenyan colleagues and a Somali headmaster were killed in an overnight attack in central Somalia blamed on Islamist insurgents, witnesses said Monday.

The four were killed when suspected rebels attacked and briefly took control of Beledweyne, the capital of Somalia's Hiraan region located about 300 kilometers (187 miles) north of the Mogadishu.
""The British female teacher and the two Kenyans, who were teachers, were killed last night here in Beledweyne,"" Abdhakin Mohamoud Hassan, a cousin of the deceased Somali, told AFP.
""We don't know why they were killed, but it happened when Islamist insurgents briefly took control of Beledweyne town last night,"" he added.
Mohamed Nur Ali, another local, said at least 15 men armed with machine guns stormed the house where the three foreign teachers were residing.
""Minutes later, we heard gunshots that killed the two Kenyans and the British woman of Somali origin,"" added Ali.
Several other witnesses confirmed the attack and put the toll at four.
Mukhtar Robbow, a spokesman for the Islamist rebels, confirmed the killing but did not own responsibility.
""We know that three foreigners have been killed in Beledweyne, but we do not know who is responsible,"" Robbow told AFP.
Over the past year, insurgents have attacked government targets after being ousted from southern and central regions by Ethiopian-backed Somali troops in early 2007.
The guerrilla fighting has killed thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee -- mainly from Mogadishu, which has been the epicenter of the clashes.
Somalia has lacked an effective government since the 1991 ousting of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Ensuing factional clashes have defied numerous bids to restore stability.