WORLD : Fighting Rages in Mogadishu

Heavy fighting raged today in the Somali capital, and Italy said it would close its embassy after it came under fire in battles between loyalist troops and rebels trying to topple the government.

The fighting forced two Italian planes--sent to try to rescue more foreigners from the embattled capital, Mogadishu--to return empty today to the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.

It remained unclear who controlled what in Mogadishu. The rebels repeatedly have claimed that they hold all but the airport where they say Somalia’s president, Mohamed Siad Barre, is holed up in a heavily guarded bunker.

There was a report that one foreigner, believed to be Korean, was killed in the Italian Embassy during the fighting Thursday night. The Italian Foreign Ministry in Rome said “apparently the casualty did occur within the embassy compound” but it had “no definitive confirmation.”