Witnesses: 6 killed in Somalia gunbattle with insurgents

By MOHAMED SHEIKH NOR
Associated Press Writer

Insurgents attacked a Somali military base near the presidential palace in Mogadishu on Friday, and an ensuing gunbattle left at least six people dead and 13 wounded, witnesses said.

Mohamed Dini said he witnessed the fighting from a window in his house in the southern part of Somalia´s capital and saw the bodies of two civilians and two government soldiers.

The battle lasted about an hour. Other soldiers collected the bodies after the fighting ended, he said.

Another witness, Maryan Da´ud, said her two stepbrothers also were killed and her house was heavily damaged by soldiers shooting near the presidential palace.

An Associated Press reporter living in the neighborhood heard gunfire. Government officials were not immediately available for comment.

Dr. Dahir Dhere, the director of Medina Hospital, said 13 people wounded in the fighting were admitted to the hospital.

At least 32 people have been killed in two days of militia attacks in Mogadishu and two rural areas of Somalia.

Islamist insurgents had vowed to avenge the death of Hashi Aden Ayro, the commander of the al-Shabab militia killed last week when U.S. fighter jets bombed his home, according to local elders. The al-Shabab commander had been leading the Islamist insurgency in Somalia and was allegedly an al-Qaida leader in the Horn of Africa country.

On Thursday, Islamist fighters briefly seized the police headquarters in Mogadishu in attack that left 11 dead, including two officers and five insurgents, according to police officer Dalmar Mohamed Hassan. He said three insurgents were captured. Witnesses said two government soldiers and two civilians also were killed in the fighting.

"We are fortifying our defensive positions to be ready for other attacks," Hassan told The Associated Press on Friday.

The raid on the police headquarters came a day after insurgents attacked Ethiopian military convoys in two rural areas, and the soldiers responded by opening fire on civilians in both towns. Witnesses said at least 17 villagers were killed.

It was not known how many Ethiopians died in that fighting. Ethiopia, which sent troops into Somalia last year to back up soldiers fighting Islamic insurgents, does not make troop fatalities public, though insurgents said one of their regional commanders was killed.

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Associated Press writer Mohamed Olad Hassan contributed to this report.