Fighting kills 22 in Somali capital Mogadishu

Fighting erupted between Islamist rebels, government forces and African Union peacekeepers in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Friday, killing at least 22 people, witnesses and medical staff said. Battles broke out around the city's strategic K4 junction after the insurgents launched a pre-dawn attack on an AU base and on government troops. Witnesses said the clashes spread to three other districts and that most of the dead were civilians. The toll was expected to increase as the fighting continued. Fearful residents cowered in their homes as mortar shells detonated around them and bullets tore into walls.