Reports from Guri-el town in central Somalia say that newly arrived Ethiopian troops in the town have been attacked by armed islamist fighters triggering sudden fighting on Saturday night residents said.

The attack happened after abrupt fighting was beleaguered on the Ethiopian troop's first unit's arrival in the town.

Two civilians have been killed in the fighting after a mortar fired by the Ethiopian troops hit in their abode in the town.

Three others injured in the fighting.

The situation has returned to normal this morning.

Its unknown the causalities of the two warred sides but islamist spokesman Abdi Rahin Isse Addow has claimed that the Ethiopian troops they attacked have suffered more causalities.

Guriel was a stronghold of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which lost power to Ethiopian-backed government troops a year ago.

Meanwhile, unrest continues in the capital, Mogadishu, where most Ethiopian forces in the country have been based since last year's invasion, which ended the UIC's six-month rule.

Somalia has been politically fragmented since 1991 and the country's transitional government, faced with an insurgency, is dependent on international aid and Ethiopian military support.