Mogadishu,(insidesomalia.org)-The bodies of nine officers working for Somalia's police force were found inside a police station in the capital Mogadishu Wednesday, a senior police official said.

Col. Abdullahi Hassan Barise, a Mogadishu police official, told reporters that some of the nine dead bodies had their "throats slit," including the body of the Daynile district deputy police commander.

All the prisoners inside the Daynile station jail were released during a one-hour period when the attackers maintained control of the police post, he added.

Al Shabaab insurgents waging war on Somalia's UN-recognized interim government and its Ethiopian military allies are responsible for the killings, Col. Barise said.

It was the worst act of violence committed against Somali police officers since the ongoing insurgency began more than 17 months ago.

African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu, Somalia

Also, insurgents launched attacks against Ethiopian troops and African Union peacekeepers in Hodan district.

Locals said the fighting was raging Wednesday afternoon, although casualties could not be ascertained.

Mogadishu-based Elman Human Rights group issued a report today estimating that 2,136 civilians have been killed in the Somali capital so far this year, in addition of more than 8,600 who died last year.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991 and the current transitional authority is the 14th attempt to restore national order.

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