At least 36 people have been killed in central Somalia after fighting erupted between pro-government militiamen and hardline Islamist insurgents, local elders and medical sources said.

The fighting, which also left at least 60 wounded, broke out in Wahbo village when the Shebab and allied fighters from the Hezb al-Islamiya group tried to recapture the area from a pro-government group Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa.

Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa is originally a religious organisation rooted in Somalia's Sufi brand of Islam but it took up arms in parts of Galgudud neighbouring the Ethiopian border earlier this year to challenge the Shebab.

Friday's Shebab-led offensive also came a day after Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa's top religious leader officially declared his support for the embattled administration of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

A spokesman for Hezb al-Islamiya, a movement headed by Sharif's rival, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, claimed the insurgents had captured Wahbo village, about 400 km north of the capital, Mogadishu.

"We have killed many of them and we lost several mujahideen. We have taken control of Wabho village and captured several armoured vehicles from the enemy forces," Sheikh Musa Arale.

Elders in the neighbouring village of Dhaa said at least 36 bodies had been found and were in the process of being buried.

"The death toll is rising by the hour. We found 36 dead bodies in the contested areas and we are now burying them," Abdullahi Adan Bashir told AFP.

"We have buried 12 bodies near Dhaa village and are still burying 24 others. They were all combatants," Moalim Ali Weheliye, another elder, said.

The fighting was the worst the region has seen in recent months.

Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, a spokesman for the Shebab, a militant Islamist armed group suspected of links to al-Qaeda, also claimed the insurgents had the upper hand.

"Praise be to Allah, we were victorious and seized Wabho from the enemy. We killed many of them, their bodies are strewn all over the area," he said at a press conference in Mogadishu.

Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa refused to concede defeat.

"Nobody has full control of Wabho at the moment and heavy fighting is ongoing. They have suffered heavy losses and so have we," Muktar Fidow, one of the group's commanders told AFP by phone from the nearby town of Guriel.

Medical sources in Elbur, a town located 70 km from the main fighting but home to the closest hospital, said that more 60 wounded had been brought in.

"We have received more than 60 injured people. Some of them have bullet wounds to the head... The casualties are hard to asses because the fighting is so far," Elbur hospital medic Mohamed Jama said.

He explained that many wounded fighters bled to death because access was difficult.

In Mogadishu, a young girl was killed by a roadside bomb blast in the front of the United Nations offices apparently targeted at African Union peacekeepers, a Somali government security officer said.

"A young girl died in the incident and two others were injured," police officer Adan Mohammed said.

Hardline insurgents launched an unprecedented offensive against the transitional federal government on May 7, leaving Sharif holed up in his Mogadishu compound.

Government forces propped up by AU peacekeepers have since responded, claiming to have regained ground in the capital.

More than 200 people, including many civilians, have been killed in the month-old bout of fighting and close to 100,000 people displaced.

AFP