Two dead after Somali insurgents down helicopter

[Hiiraan boy]

MOGADISHU, March 30, 2007 (AFP) -

Two Ethiopian soldiers died when their helicopter was shot down by insurgents over Mogadishu on Friday, the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia said.

The Mi-24 gunship was hit by a missile and came down on waste ground in Mogadishu airport, just 500 metres (550 yards) from a base of Ugandan AU peacekeepers, Captain Paddy Ankunda told AFP by telephone.

"It came down and there was nothing we could do. We saw it hit the ground. We saw a fire and we moved in to see. It crashed into the ground," he said.

"Our troops managed to secure the wreckage as well as taking away the bodies. Only two bodies were recovered."

The helicopter was destroyed as joint Ethiopian and Somali forces came under fire from Islamist insurgents during a second day of intensive fighting sparked by an Ethiopian offensive.

"The war is continuing," said Ankunda, adding that Ugandan peacekeeping troops were remaining in defensive positions.

"African troops have not been involved in any fighting. We are not about to get involved in any fighting because our mandate does not allow us to do that."

Some 1,500 Ugandan peacekeeping forces are deployed in Mogadishu.