Africa Union soldiers secure the area where they prepare to destroy weapons and munitions in Mogadishu, Somalia (File photo)

At least one person was killed in the Somali capital of Mogadishu Monday when unidentified attackers threw grenades at Ethiopian troops searching for weapons and insurgents.

Several other explosions were also heard in the city.

Government and Ethiopian soldiers began the house-to-house search on Sunday in an effort to reduce attacks by Islamist insurgents. Dozens of people are reported to have been detained.

Earlier Monday, soldiers searched the Horn-Afrik radio station in the middle of a news broadcast, but they did not interrupt any of the programs.

Last year the Islamic Courts Union took control of Mogadishu until troops supporting an interim government backed by Ethiopian forces kicked them out.

The chaos in Somalia has been going on for 16 years. The violence started in 1991 when warlords overthrew dictator Mohammed Siad Barre. The United Nations helped form a government in 2004, but it has not been able to restore peace.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.