27 killed in mortar shell explosion in southern Somalia

A mortar shell explosion near Qoryoley, a city in the Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia, killed about 27 people, mainly children, on Friday, the state news agency said.

Children were playing with mortar shells that didn't go off. It exploded on them, said Abdi Ahmed, deputy district commissioner of Qoryoley, a city of about 60,000 people south of the country's capital, Mogadishu.

We request the government and aid agencies to clear mines and shells from the area, he said.

The residents said the unexplored shells were used by the warring factions in Somalia.

On Friday, a beachside hotel in Mogadishu was attacked, with the Al Shabab terrorist group claiming responsibility, the AP reported. As of Friday evening, no fatalities were reported in the attack on the Pearl Beach hotel, as security forces continued to battle with the militants overnight.