Police fortify Mogadishu HQ after rebel raid in heart of Somali capital

By: Mohamed Olad Hassan, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somali police are fortifying their headquarters in Mongadishu after Islamic insurgents attacked the facility in the heart of capital on Thursday.

Police officer Dalmar Mohamed Hassan said two policemen and five insurgents died when the rebels attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy submachine-guns.

He says three insurgents were captured.

Rebel spokesman Abdirahim Issa Adow says eight policemen were killed and that the insurgents suffered one dead and two wounded.

Violence in Somalia has escalated in the week since U.S. fighter jets bombed the house of the alleged al-Qaida leader in Somalia, killing him and 24 others, mostly civilians.

His supporters have vowed to avenge the death of Hashi Aden Ayro, commander of the powerful al-Shabab militia that is leading the Islamist insurgency.

The raid on the police headquarters came a day after rebels attacked Ethiopian military convoys in two rural towns.

The soldiers responded by opening fire on civilians in both communities, killing at least 17 civilians.

It was not known how many Ethiopians died in that fighting. Ethiopia, which spearheaded a U.S. backed invasion that put the current government in power in late 2006, does not make troop fatalities public.

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