Mogadishu – The African Union (AU) said that three civilians were killed and two others injured during a firefight between its forces in Somalia and Islamists from the Al-Shabaab group.

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said its troops clashed with Al-Shabaab fighters who had laid a roadside ambush on Monday, northeast of Janale in Lower Shabelle, a hotbed for the insurgents.

AMISOM troops, which support Somalia's ill-equipped national army in the fight against Al-Shabaab, have been accused of killing civilians during past operations.

It was just the second time the US military admitted to civilian deaths from its drone programme in Somalia, though rights groups say the true figure is higher.

In 2011, AMISOM forces pushed Al-Shabaab out of their holdouts in Mogadishu, and the insurgents have since lost much of the territory they once controlled.