MOGADISHU, Somalia Oct 20 (Garowe Online) - At least 11 people were killed in fighting in the Somali capital Mogadishu overnight Sunday and into Monday morning, Radio Garowe reports.

The battles started after Al Shabaab insurgents attacked Somali government troops and African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) at bases around the Villa Somalia presidential compound, witnesses said.

Somali police spokesman Col. Abdullahi Hassan Barise told a Monday press conference in Mogadishu that government forces killed insurgents, including a man from Yemen.

“The two bodies we have showed you, one is a Somali and the other is a man from Yemen,” the police spokesman said, adding that “Al Qaeda is fighting in Somalia.”

Witnesses at Bakara Market said that 5 people were killed inside the market when shells slammed into a crowded area.

The bodies of 2 Somali government soldiers were seen at the scene of the fighting. Al Shabaab insurgents, who claimed responsibility for the attacks, have not spoken publicly.

Separately on Monday, a roadside explosion targeted AMISOM truck convoy followed by street fighting between the peacekeepers and the insurgents.

A military officer with the Burundian contingent of the AMISOM peacekeeping force confirmed the roadside attack, but rejected speculation that any soldier was killed.

The truck sustained some damage, but there was “only one soldier inside and he is healthy,” according to a spokesman for Burundian soldiers in Mogadishu.

More than 20 people were wounded in the violence, according to medical sources.

Mogadishu has been the scene of a relentless insurgency since early 2007. The 5,000-strong AMISOM force helps protect the airport, the main port and the Villa Somalia presidential compound.

Source: Garowe Online