Mortars kill 4 near parliament in Somali capital

A medical official says mortars fired at the Somali parliament missed the building but killed four civilians.

The head of Mogadishu's ambulance service Ali Muse says nine people wounded in Monday's attack were taken to a medical facility in the capital.

Lawmaker Gedi Osman says that parliament was in session at the time of the attack but legislators were not harmed.

In a separate incident, a village elder says eight people died of hunger-related illnesses in the southern village of Torotorow and the surrounding areas.

Hassan Hajji says five children were among the dead and appealed for international aid.

But al-Qaida-linked Islamist insurgents battling the weak U.N.-backed Somali government have banned aid agencies from the area.