MOGADISHU, April 3: At least 19 Somalis, including 15 soldiers were killed, and several wounded on Thursday in separate clashes between Islamist insurgents and security forces, officials and witnesses said.

The Islamist fighters attacked a military camp near in Addado town, 500 kilometres north of the capital Mogadishu, killing 15 soldiers and wounded 20 others.

“The fighting was very heavy, Shabaab fighters attacked our military base outside Addado (town) and we lost 15 men and six vehicles,” Dahir Shidane, an army commander said.

“I don’t know the casualties on the other side,” added Shidane, the commander of the Somali forces in central regions.

Several witnesses said government soldiers lost the fighting, the latest in the nation of nine million, which is increasingly running adrift in the face of a relentless insurgency.

“Many people were killed in the fighting, I couldn’t count the dead bodies in the battle field,” said resident Abdiwahab Haji Dahir.

Separately, insurgents attacked a Somali governor in south-western region and killed two policemen and two civilians, witnesses said.

The attack occurred in Qasahdere town, 335 kilometres southwest of the capital Mogadishu, where Bay region governor Abdufatah Mohamed Ibrahim and other government officials were lodged in a hotel.

The governor said the attack on his delegation took place at about 4:00 am (0100 GMT), but he was unhurt.

Islamist fighters this week seized control of the central town of Buulo Burte, days after they briefly took control of Jowhar town, leaving a trail of fatalities.

Over the past year, the insurgents have attacked government targets after being ousted from the southern and central regions by Ethiopian-backed Somali troops early 2007.

The guerilla fighting has killed thousands and forced hundreds of thousands to flee mainly from Mogadishu, which has been the epicentre of the clashes.—AFP