Mortar fire strikes radio station, three dead

At least three civilians were killed Monday when Somali government forces fired mortar and artillery shells in response to an insurgent attack on a parliament session in Mogadishu, witnesses said.Islamist insurgents launched a mortar attack on the office of the capital's mayor, where Somalia's parliament was holding its first session in months, officials and witnesses said.Retaliatory shelling rained down on Mogadishu's Bakara and Holwadag neighbourhoods, causing several casualties, residents said."A shell crashed into the radio station... Three people have died," said Abshir Abdi Ali, head of programming for local radio station Voice of Democracy.Director Abdirahman Yasin Ali's wife was among the dead, as were two other civilians, the journalist said, adding that three of his colleagues were also wounded in the incident.Scores of civilians have been killed in Mogadishu over the past two years when government forces and African Union peacekeepers opened retaliatory fire on densely-populated areas."Some mortar shells were fired at the headquarters of Mogadishu mayor where parliament members were meeting," police officer Yusuf Abdullahi Muktar told AFP."The shells landed outside the building, nobody was injured. Situation is normal now and the parliament session is continuing," he added.Another official speaking on condition of anonymity said President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed had been due to attend the session. - AFP