Bodies of Ethiopian troops dragged through streets of Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Islamic insurgents clashed with Ethiopian troops in Somalia's capital today in battles that killed 12 people and wounded 10 others.

Witnesses say jubilant supporters of the insurgents dragged the bodies of four dead Ethiopian soldiers through the streets Mogadishu.

Eight civilians were also killed in the fighting.

People used wheelbarrows to cart off both the dead and the wounded, who included two children.

Sacido Sheikh said three of his stepbrothers were among those killed. A mortar shell hit their house in a different part of the neighbourhood.

Residents said the clashes began early in the morning when Ethiopian troops allied to the shaky, western-backed transitional government entered the Suqa-hola neighbourhood in the northeast of the city.

Thousands of Somalis have died in fighting between Islamic insurgents and Ethiopian troops who spearheaded a U.S.-back invasion that ousted an Islamic administration that controlled much of the country.

Source: AP