( CNN ) -- At least 30 people died and 70 were wounded in shelling on a marketplace in the Somali capital of Mogadishu Thursday , according to journalists and emergency services . Members of Islamist militia Al-Shaabab patrol Bakara Market in Mogadishu , Somalia , earlier this month . A local journalist called the rocket fire on Bakara market `` unprecedented . '' `` This was the most brutal shelling , '' according to an ambulance service representative who said they had picked up 61 wounded , but expect the number to climb . Other victims were being brought to hospitals by family and friends . The source of the shelling could not immediately be determined . Journalists saw shell fire coming from AMISOM -- the African Union Mission in Somalia -- strongholds in a fortified district of the capital and from near the airport . AMISOM is the only force in the area believed to have the firepower capable of such an intense attack . However , AMISOM denied any involvement in the incident . The African Union has a 3,400-member peacekeeping force in Somalia , made up of troops from Burundi and Uganda . It operates under a U.N. mandate to support Somalia 's transitional federal government . The peacekeeping force is charged with protecting key government and strategic installations in Mogadishu , including the port , airport and presidential palace . It is the de facto military force of the weak , transitional Somali government . African Union forces have been battling an al Qaeda-linked Islamist militia in Somalia called Al-Shaabab . The United States is supporting the Somali government 's fight against the insurgents , including providing weapons to government forces . Al-Shaabab is on the U.S. list of terror organizations because of its ties to Osama bin Laden 's al Qaeda network . The United States is concerned that Somalia 's weak government could fall to the Islamist insurgency , as it did in 2006 before Ethiopian forces ousted the militants from power in early 2007 . Ethiopia invaded Somalia with the support of Somalia 's weak transitional government . Journalist Mohamed Amiin Adow contributed to this report .
Two people killed after shelling in Somali capital Mogadishu according to CNN . CNN report shell ##ing coming from African Union Mission in the stronghold . Military group AMISOM has denied any involvement in the incident .