Eight killed in renewed Mogadishu clashes

Mogadishu, June, 01, 2009, 12:16 PM-ET (TF.SF)-At least eight people five of them Somali policemen were killed and dozen others were injured in renewed Mogadishu skirmishes between Somali government and Islamist militants, officials and witnesses said. On Monday, a roadside bomb hit policemen onboard a pickup truck in southern Mogadishu leaving five policemen including senior officials dead while heavy fighting between Somali government forces and Islamist opposition fighters left three dead in northern Mogadishu’s Yaaqshid district.“Five policemen died and five others including a civilian were injured after a roadside bomb ripped their pickup truck near K4 junction, we are still investigating the incident”, Ali Hersi Bare, Somali police officer said.Witnesses saw burned bodies discovered from the wreckage of the pickup which was destroyed by the roadside bomb.“The policemen sealed off the road after the explosion and they were picking the burned bodies of the victims from the wreckage”, Yusuf Ali, a witness said.Meanwhile, three people have died in northern Mogadishu early Monday after Somali government launched a military onslaught on a police station controlled by the hard-line Islamists.Somali officials claimed over the control of the contest police station and witnesses confirmed the claim.“I saw Somali government forces took control of Yaqshid police station, they were patrolling the area”, Mohamed Abdi, a witness said.Al-Shabab, hard-line Islamist group accused of links with Al-qaida and Hizb Al-Islamiya, a more radical political group led by Sheik Hasan Dahir Aweys, a senior opposition leader launched intensive attacks against Somali government in a bid to overthrow it.