Somali troops kills 40 Islamist insurgents

12/07/2009 - 9:06

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali government troops backed by African Union peacekeepers killed 40 al Shabaab insurgents on Sunday in clashes in north Mogadishu, the government said.

"We have killed 40 fighters from al Shabaab group and we continue to repulse them. We have now pushed them back from three northern districts of Mogadishu. AU peacekeepers were assisting us," said Salad Ali Jelle, a parliamentarian who was involved in Sunday's fighting.

(Reporting by Ibrahim Mohamed; writing by Jack Kimball; editing by Tim Pearce)