20111228
Press TV
Heavy explosions and bomb attacks north of the Somali capital of Mogadishu have killed at least 22 civilians and security forces and injured more than 20 others, Press TV reports.

Heavy artillery fire and explosions occurred early on Monday and continue to rock the Somali capital.

Meanwhile, twin blasts killed 11 Kenyan soldiers and wounded dozens more near Somalia's border with Kenya when the African country's military trucks were targeted by al-Shabab militants.

In a separate incident, a Somali lawmaker was seriously injured after Somali forces opened fire on his vehicle near the presidential palace in Mogadishu.

The forces said they fired on the lawmaker's car by mistake as they thought the speeding vehicle belonged to militants.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

Strategically located in the Horn of Africa, Somalia remains one of the countries generating the highest number of refugees and internally displaced persons in the world.