12 Killed in Somali Attacks

Hospital authorities in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, say mortar and gunfire attacks have killed at least 12 people and wounded at least 45.

The attacks Monday night on the Somali presidential palace, a military base, and other targets were among the fiercest since Ethiopian and Somali troops chased out an Islamist movement late last year.

The intensified fighting came as the transitional government said it was launching a new, rapid-response force in Mogadishu.

In recent weeks, insurgents' attacks have killed dozens of people in Mogadishu. A car explosion on Sunday killed four.

Officials blame the attacks on the defeated Islamist movement, which has vowed to fight on against the government and its Ethiopian backers.

Meanwhile, Swedish officials have confirmed that several Swedish citizens were arrested in Somalia on suspicion of fighting alongside the Islamists. Reports on the arrests had been circulating in Sweden for weeks. The two countries are discussing the suspects' fate. - VOA News