Somali killed in battle with US-led troops

MOGADISHU (AP) - US marines and Nigerian soldiers attacked snipers in central Mogadishu with grenades, machine-guns and rifles in a five-hour battle yesterday. At least one Somali was killed and three marines and two Nigerians were wounded.

Several hundred marines searched house-to-house for weapons after the battle. Shots also were fired at the UN offices in the capital, and a relief agency, International Medical Corps, about half a mile from the fighting reported that it came under fire.

Aid agency officials said the shooting halted most traffic in the city and kept aid workers inside their compounds, but streets returned to normal afterwards. Other parts of the capital seemed calm following rioting on Wednesday that killed at least five Somalis. The violence could complicate the planned transition to UN command, under which most of the 17,000 remaining US troops would leave.