By Sahal Abdulle and Guled Mohamed
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MOGADISHU, Feb 19 (Reuters) - A fresh mortar battle between guerrillas and Somali forces killed at least three people in the capital Mogadishu on Monday as the government set up a new rapid reaction force to respond to a wave of attacks.
Deputy parliament speaker Mohamed Omar Dalha said the new units would include specially trained police and military personnel equipped with pickup trucks carrying heavy weapons that are Somalia's version of a tank.
"A rapid response unit has been formed to specifically respond to all cases of insecurity. They will be on call 24 hours to respond to any threats or attacks anywhere in the capital," Dalha told Reuters by telephone.
The government move came amid a spate of rocket and mortar strikes that have killed dozens and undermined attempts to bring security to a city that has resisted order for 16 years.
Underscoring the challenges the new unit will face, at least three people were killed and nine were wounded in an exchange of mortar rounds late on Monday, witnesses said.
Unknown gunmen and government troops accompanied by their Ethiopian allies exchanged mortar bombs hitting residents' homes in the west of the capital, they said.
The government could not immediately be reached for comment.
A source at Madina hospital confirmed nine wounded people had been brought in. "I saw two dead bodies," said resident Sunni Said Salah.
Another witness who identified himself only as Hassan said: "A mortar hit a house killing a girl and wounding two others. We don't know where the mortars were fired from."
The evening attack followed a botched rocket strike earlier that had targeted policemen but missed and wounded four civilians.
"The rocket hit a building after flying over the vehicle carrying the police," resident Abdirahman Mohamed told Reuters by telephone. "I saw a wounded man while another one lay down unconscious."
Joint government-Ethiopian forces have boosted patrols and checkpoints in the city to help curb the guerrilla attacks -- which could be coming from any number of assailants with military weapons and an anti-government grudge.
The government says they are being carried out by remnants of the Islamist movement whom they ousted with the help of Ethiopian tanks and planes in a two-week war in December.
The violence underlines the huge challenge facing President Abdullahi Yusuf's government in trying to tame a nation in anarchy since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991.
Ugandan soldiers are due to deploy in Mogadishu soon as the first contingent of an 8,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force to replace the Ethiopian presence, which infuriates many Somalis who view Ethiopia as a centuries-old rival. (Additional reporting by Ibrahim Mohamed in Mogadishu)
Source: Reuters, Feb 19, 2007