( CNN ) -- At least 12 people , mostly women , were killed and 47 others were wounded in Somalia 's capital city , Mogadishu , after Islamists and African Union forces exchanged shells Thursday , an ambulance service official said . `` I can confirm that at least 12 people died in today 's fighting and we have collected 47 others who got wounded , '' said Ali Musa , director of an ambulance service who spoke to CNN from Mogadishu . `` At one site , a shell landed on women selling milk and a number of them got killed and wounded . '' Exclusive : Somalia battles measure success in meters . Musa said the shelling began in the morning with Islamist rebels firing mortars at Somalia 's parliament building , where lawmakers were in session . The exchange of shells continued until 3:20 in the afternoon , Musa said .
Rebels fired mortars at the parliament building in Mogadishu . The attack came as a convoy of government officials and their families left for neighboring Kenya to escape fighting between al-Shabab militants and African Union peacekeepers.