Sunday, June 08, 2008
Garowe Online reported the fighting, which included artillery shelling, erupted when insurgents attacked a joint operation of Somali and Ethiopian troops that had spread along major roads leading to Bakara Market.
"I saw eight dead bodies near the telecommunications company area," a civilian told Garowe Online moments afterward.
Another witness told the news agency he saw the dead bodies of insurgent fighters, but no dead soldiers.
Some civilians reportedly were killed when artillery shells hit their homes near the market and others died in crossfire between the rebels and government forces.
Dahir Dheere, a hospital official Mogadishu, told reporters 44 wounded victims were admitted and some had died in surgery.
"The wounded include 12 women and six children, and the rest are men, including elders," he said.
Officials who spoke for two other Mogadishu hospitals told reporters a total of 36 people were admitted with various wounds.
Source: UPI, June 08, 2008