Deadly Blasts in Somali Capital

STORY:

A sight that has been all too common in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

More than 16,000 civilians have been killed in the two-year-old insurgency.

One million people have been driven from their homes, and more than a third of the population depend on aid.

Large parts of Mogadishu lie empty and destroyed, even more so today after 15 people were killed and scores wounded after Islamist rebels attacked police and African Union peacekeepers in the heaviest fighting the city has seen for weeks.

Mortar fire has destroyed homes and families.

[Mahmud Hirsi, Mogadishu Resident]:
"They were hit by a mortar that killed them, my other three children were wounded and taken to the hospital, the dead woman is my wife who was recovering after giving birth."

The latest violence broke out after hardline Islamist group Al Shabaab  launched attacks on AU troops.

The opposition fighters are just one of the many insurgent groups waging war against the Ethiopian troops propping up the country's previous government.