One Ugandan peacekeeper was killed and two others wounded in the Somali capital Mogadishu yesterday when Islamist insurgents attacked African Union forces near the country's Parliament.

"This happened in an attack around the areas of Parliament house. We have chased away the rebels," the AU force's spokesman, Maj. Ba-Hoku Barigye said.

The clashes also left two militants and 19 civilians dead. Some 68 people were also wounded. The fighting was centred in two government-held neighbourhoods - Hodan and Howldag.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of the presidential palace on Monday, wounding two soldiers in an attack claimed by the al Shabaab.

Militant group al-Shabab launched an offensive one month ago in an effort to topple the government. Al-Shabaab and another insurgent group, Hizbul Islam, control much of southern Somalia and most of the capital.

The government has held on to a few key areas of Mogadishu with the help of AU soldiers.