7 including 3 kids die in Somali mortar attacks

MOGADISHU: Hours of fighting in the Somali capital killed at least seven civilians, including three young siblings who were leaving a religious school when a mortar landed nearby, witnesses said Monday. ``One of the shells landed near a Quranic school, killing three children from the same family,'' said resident Abdi Moalim Haji, who saw the carnage and recognized the children, aged 6, 8 and 11. About11 other people were injured, he said. His account was confirmed by another witness, Abdi Nur Ahmed. It was not immediately clear how many combatants died; each side claimed to have inflicted heavy losses.