MOGADISHU, Somalia June 17 (Garowe Online) - At least 20 people were killed in Wednesday clashes in the Somali capital Mogadishu including a senior police official and a number of journalists were wounded, Radio Garowe reports.

Islamist rebel faction Hizbul Islam claimed that pro-government forces, including Islamic Courts Union (ICU) militia, attacked areas controlled by rebels in Mogadishu.

Unconfirmed reports said artillery shells launched from African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) bases hit locations in Hodan district, where the heavy fighting was concentrated.

But a spokesman for AMISOM rejected media reports that the peacekeepers were involved in the battle. The 4,000-strong AMISOM peacekeeping force guards important facilities, including the Villa Somalia presidential compound and Mogadishu’s main port and international airport.

Suleko Omar, a witness who lives near Mogadishu's sprawling Bakara Market, said the market was closed today for fear of attacks and described the fighting as the "worst in weeks.

Independent sources said pro-government forces were seen at checkpoints previously controlled by Hizbul Islam rebels after the fighting subsided later Wednesday.

Col. Ali Said, commander of Banadir region police force where Mogadishu is located, was killed during the clashes, according to police spokesman Col. Abdullahi Hassan Barise.

A police source confidentially said that the commander was a senior member of the Somali police force and described his death as a "loss" for the beleaguered interim government.

Hospital directors at a number of Mogadishu hospitals reported admitting more than 50 wounded persons for treatment, including three journalists identified as: Ismail Istilla of Radio Simba;  Abdihakim Ibrahim of Radio Xurmo; and a third unnamed reporter working for Voice of Peace (Codka Nabadda) radio station in Mogadishu.

Yesterday, at least 10 people were killed in Mogadishu clashes between pro-government forces and Islamist hardliners.

Somalia's U.N.-backed interim government, led by former ICU chief Sheikh Sharif Ahmed as president, was formed in January and has struggled to survive in Mogadishu against a powerful insurgency led by Islamist rebel groups Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam.

Source: Garowe Online