Mogadishu fighting kills at least 17 civilians

Clashes in Mogadishu pitting Islamist insurgents against Somali government troops backed by African Union forces have killed at least 17 civilians, medics said yesterday.
“The ambulance servicemen collected 10 civilian bodies and 46 others who were injured in the clashes yesterday [Tuesday] afternoon,” Ali Musa, the head of Mogadishu’s ambulance services, told AFP.
Seven others died of their injuries while undergoing treatment at the city’s Madina hospital, officials said.
Clashes broke out in Mogadishu’s Taleh district, with mortar shells fired by rival sides smashing houses and killing civilians.
African Union leaders agreed Tuesday to boost the bloc’s force in Somalia by 4,000 to counter the Islamist insurgents waging a deadly battle to oust the country’s transitional government.