MOGADISHU, Somalia Sep 25 (Garowe Online) - At least 12 people were killed during the second consecutive day of fighting in the Somali capital Mogadishu, Radio Garowe reports.

The violence erupted along Mogadishu's Maka Al Mukarrama Road after insurgents attacked Somali government forces and African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) manning checkpoints along the important road that leads to the Villa Somalia presidential compound.

"My mother was cut into pieces after a shell hit our home while she was praying," said a girl named Hodan, who spoke on a Mogadishu-based radio station. She said her deceased mother left behind orphaned children.

Artillery shells that hit residential areas in Yaaqshiid and Wardhigley districts and parts of Bakara Market killed a number of people, including civilians praying at a mosque, according to local sources.

"I saw 10 dead bodies and we transported 21 wounded persons," said an emergency worker in Mogadishu, while describing Thursday's overnight violence.

Somali insurgent groups Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam separately claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Thursday night's attacks followed Wednesday violence when at least 15 people were killed in insurgent attacks.

Islamist hardliners have led a bloody insurgency against Somalia's UN-backed interim government since 2007, with upwards of 18,000 people killed in the conflict since, according to human rights groups.

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Source: Garowe Online