Saturday, May 10, 2008
The rebels fired mortars and used heavy machineguns against their rivals manning a checkpoint in Mogadishu's Hararyale district, sparking an intense firefight.
"About three mortar shells landed on houses in my neighbourhood and six civilians, two of them children, died," said Abdiasis Abdullahi, a resident.
Another body was found near the battle zone, said Mohamed Farey, also a resident.
The Islamists have waged near-daily attacks in Mogadishu against the Ethiopia-backed Somali government forces, which ousted their movement early last year.
Last week, they promised to avenge the killing of Hashi Aden Ayro -- a senior Islamist leader accused of being Al-Qaeda's pointman in Somalia -- in a US airstrike.
A seemingly endless cycle of violence has plagued the Horn of African nation since the toppling of president Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
Source: AFP, May 10, 2008