Suicide Car Bomb Blast at Somalia UN Mine Offices
Suicide Car Bomb Blast at Somalia UN Mine Offices
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MOGADISHU - Two suicide bombers have detonated explosives-laden cars outside the offices of the UN’s mine-clearing agency and a Somali army checkpoint in Mogadishu. This incident killing 13 people including seven guards.
The two blasts on Tuesday took place near the African Union base in the area of Mogadishu airport, said Somali police chief, Gen Mohamed Sheikh Hassan at a press conference.
Somalia’s jihadi rebels, Al-Shabaab, have claimed responsibility for the bombings, according to the group’s Andalus radio station.
Unlike previous attacks by the group, which is linked to al-Qaida, gunmen did not accompany the suicide bombers, said police officer Mohamed Hussein.
The first bomber tried to speed through the barrier at the UN office but guards shot at the car, the officer said. The guards at the UN offices were from a private security firm, said a police official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press.
A second suicide blast targeted a checkpoint manned by Somali security forces near the AU base, said Hussein. Casualties there remain unclear. Foreign troops in Somalia struggle to keep al-Shabaab at bay
Al-Shabaab is waging an insurgency against Somalia’s weak UN-backed government with the goal of establishing an Islamic emirate in Somalia, ruled by a strict form of Islam.
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Earlier this month, eight soldiers were killed when an al-Shabaab suicide car bomber targeted a Somali military training camp and attackers then entered the base on foot.
More than 22,000 troops and police serve in the AU force, which also includes troops from Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Ethiopia.
Al-Shabaab opposes the presence of foreign troops in Somalia and has launched attacks in countries that have contributed to the AU force. Although al-Shabaab was ousted from the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in 2011, it continues to wage a deadly guerrilla campaign that includes suicide bombings.
The two blasts on Tuesday took place near the African Union base in the area of Mogadishu airport, said Somali police chief, Gen Mohamed Sheikh Hassan at a press conference.
Somalia’s jihadi rebels, Al-Shabaab, have claimed responsibility for the bombings, according to the group’s Andalus radio station.
Unlike previous attacks by the group, which is linked to al-Qaida, gunmen did not accompany the suicide bombers, said police officer Mohamed Hussein.
The first bomber tried to speed through the barrier at the UN office but guards shot at the car, the officer said. The guards at the UN offices were from a private security firm, said a police official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press.
A second suicide blast targeted a checkpoint manned by Somali security forces near the AU base, said Hussein. Casualties there remain unclear. Foreign troops in Somalia struggle to keep al-Shabaab at bay
Al-Shabaab is waging an insurgency against Somalia’s weak UN-backed government with the goal of establishing an Islamic emirate in Somalia, ruled by a strict form of Islam.
Earlier this month, eight soldiers were killed when an al-Shabaab suicide car bomber targeted a Somali military training camp and attackers then entered the base on foot.
More than 22,000 troops and police serve in the AU force, which also includes troops from Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Ethiopia.
Al-Shabaab opposes the presence of foreign troops in Somalia and has launched attacks in countries that have contributed to the AU force. Although al-Shabaab was ousted from the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in 2011, it continues to wage a deadly guerrilla campaign that includes suicide bombings.
(rnz)
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