Heavy fighting erupts in Somalia's capital

(AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor)

The heaviest fighting in months hit Somalia's capital today as insurgents and government-backed troops fired machine guns, mortars and rocket-proplled grenades, leaving at least seven dead and dozens wounded, officials told The Associated Press.

Islamic fighters briefly took over a police station in south Mogadishu and chanted "God is great" before heading back out of the area.

At least 35 people, including the woman shown above, were being treated at Mogadishu's Medina Hospital.

MORE HARDSHIP: Some 1.5 million Somalis are now in need of food and protection -- 50 percent more than at the start of the year -- due to inadequate rains, continuing internal displacement and a potential cholera epidemic, the U.N. says.

For more on the fighting in Somalia, read this report by from Mogadishu by Salad Duhul.

--Paul Chavez