Suspected Shebab fighters stormed a Mogadishu hotel as the battles resumed and sprayed gunfire on several occupants, among them lawmakers, an official and witnesses said.
"So far what I can tell you is that they have killed several MPs," a government security offcier told AFP on condition of anonymity. "I think four of them are dead."
The official could not immediately confirm their identities.
"We are not completely sure who the attackers are but we believe they are Shebab insurgents who entered the area disguised in government security uniforms," he added.
The government also said it had killed more than 15 Shebab insurgents in the worst clashes since the July 11 suicide attacks in Kampala claimed by the group escalated the conflict.
The suicide attacks in Kampala last month killed 76 people and were claimed by the Shebab as retaliation for Uganda's leading role in AMISOM, the only obstacle to the insurgent group's final conquest of Mogadishu.
Uganda, hosting an African Union summit days later, responded by vowing to deploy more troops and mustering continental support for boosting AMISOM's deployment, which currently stands at more than 6,000 troops.
Shebab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Rage announced the offensive during a press conference moments before the fighting started on Monday.
The government responded in a statement charging that the group had proved its contempt for the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began last week.
Fighting broke out on Monday afternoon when Shebab fighters launched an offensive on army barracks in several districts of the capital.
The head of Mogadishu's ambulance services Ali Muse told AFP 29 civilians had been killed so far in the clashes, which also wounded nearly 100 others.
Civilians in the seaside Somali capital routinely get caught in the crossfire when government forces backed by Burundian and Ugandan African Union forces trade mortar and artillery rounds with the insurgents.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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