MOGADISHU, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - Gunmen killed two policemen in Somalia's capital, where the embattled transitional government is facing a deadly insurgency, police said Friday.

The pair were killed overnight when insurgents ambushed a police patrol in northern Mogadishu's Huriwa district, one of the most volatile zones in the lawless city, said policeman Abdulwahid Mohamed.

"We lost two policemen last night," Mohamed told AFP.

Mohamed said security forces also battled insurgents in Burubah district, but there were no reports of casualties.

Somali security launched a wide crackdown earlier this week aimed at flushing out insurgents from a few pockets in the capital that still escape government control.

Somalia's transitional government has blamed the violence on an Islamist militia which briefly controlled large parts of the country before being ousted earlier this year with the help of Ethiopian troops.

The latest violence also comes as hundreds of Somali opposition figures, including the top leaders of the Islamic Courts Union, are holding a congress in Asmara aimed at forming a united front against Ethiopian occupation.

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