OneWorld.net (U.S.)

18/10/2007 14.54

Two violent explosions shook Mogadishu this morning, where based on a still preliminary toll three people were killed and an unspecified number of civilians were wounded in various episodes of violence.

Local sources referred to MISNA that a first blast took place at around 11:00 am in the Howladag neighbourhood, while a second in the Afgoi area.

Based on first reconstructions, in the first episode gunmen threw a hand grenade against a police post, causing the reaction of government forces that opened fire on the surrounding crowd. The toll of the first blast is unknown, but reports indicate the injury of bystanders.

A roadside bomb exploded in the Afgoi district at the passage of some vehicles, without causing any casualties based on information available so far.

Three people were killed, including a police officer, in the Karan area in a gun battle between security forces and unidentified gunmen.

Another three civilians were killed yesterday in three attacks in different areas of Mogadishu, while a soldier was killed in unclear circumstances in Kisimaayo, in southern Somalia.

Target killings, attacks and fighting between government forces and insurgents are a daily event in Mogadishu. According to a local human rights group, more than 129 civilians were killed, 217 wounded and at least 24,000 were forced from their homes in the month of September in ongoing violence in the Somali capital.