Mortars land on homes in Mogadishu, kill 7

[iolsa]

Mogadishu - Witnesses in the Somali capital say mortar shells likely fired by insurgents crashed into civilian homes overnight, killing seven people, including four children.

Abdinur Hashi, a resident in the Hodan district of Mogadishu, said on Tuesday that a father, mother and their two children died in one home, and a mother and her 8-year-old child died in a nearby house. A third child also died after suffering serious wounds caused by shrapnel.

The bodies were wrapped in white shrouds at daylight. Hashi called the violence a "catastrophe."

Security in Mogadishu has improved markedly over the past year, after African Union and Somali troops pushed al-Shabab insurgents out. But indiscriminate mortar and bomb attacks still take place. - Sapa-AP



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