MOGADISHU, Aug 2, 2007 (AFP) - Twelve people were killed and several wounded in separate mortar and grenade attacks in the Somali capital Mogadishu, witnesses and officials said Thursday.

Suspected insurgents fired around 20 mortar rounds at a police camp in southern Mogadishu overnight but the shells mostly hit a nearby civilian area, killing eight, witnesses said.

"The mortar rounds landed in areas around the main industrial road and a house that had been evacuated," local resident Ahmed Mohamed Ibrahim told AFP.

Two other civilians were killed when a grenade was hurled at a police patrol in the volatile Bulo Hubey district.

"A man died on the spot and a woman died much later," said Hassan Mohamud, a grocer who witnessed the attack. He added that several policemen were also wounded.

Another grenade explosion killed an Ethiopian soldier and a civilian in northern Mogadishu's Huriwa neighbourhood.

"The Ethiopians sealed the area after one of their soldiers was killed by a grenade attack against a small convoy," local resident Ali Hassan said.

Police commander Colonel Huseen Dhumal confirmed that at least seven officers were wounded in attacks over the past two days.

The latest incidents were some of the deadliest since Somali government troops backed by the Ethiopian army swept the capital ahead of a national reconciliation conference which kicked off on July 15 and is ongoing.

Since being defeated earlier this year, Islamist militia and other insurgents have carried out almost daily guerrilla-style attacks on government forces as well as the Ethiopian and African Union troops supporting them.

The Islamic Courts Union, which briefly took control of large parts of the country last year, is boycotting the Mogadishu talks, which are attended by more than 1,000 clan representatives.

Home to about 10 million people, Somalia has been plagued by instability that has defied more than a dozen peace initiatives since the 1991 overthrow of former dictator Siad Barre.

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