MOGADISHU
(AFP) - Islamist militia ambushed government
forces overnight in the south of Somalia's
war-wracked capital, killing at least seven
civilians, witnesses said Saturday.
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.
