October 28, 2009 Insurgent mortars target Somali president

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - A medical official in Somalia says five people have been killed in fighting after insurgents sent mortars toward the airport as the president was arriving.

Ali Musa, the head of the Mogadishu ambulance service, says 11 others were wounded in the battles Wednesday.

Witnesses say mortars were fired toward the airport around the time the president was landing. Police say the president was unharmed.

Insurgents last week fired mortars at the airport as the president was boarding a plane, sparking battles that killed at least 24 people.

Somalia's capital sees near-daily bloodshed as a powerful insurgent group with links to al-Qaida tries to overthrow the fragile government and push out 5,000 African Union peacekeepers.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)