Two bomb blasts hit near
the main entrance to Mogadishu's Aden Adde airport, close to a base for African
Union (AU) peacekeeping troops.
At least 13 people were
killed when two vehicles packed with explosives went off as they were driven
towards a base for African Union troops in the Somali capital, according to
officials and witnesses.
Islamist terror group Al
Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had killed more than
12 people.
The two attackers targeted
the African Union's main peacekeeping base in Somalia's capital, which has
witnessed a rise in Islamist attacks in recent years.
The first detonated a car
bomb near the gates of the compound, which lies close to the airport, and the
second tried to storm the base on foot.
He was shot before he
detonated explosives at the gate.
Local police officer Major
Nur Osman told Reuters: “AU forces sealed the area. There were many Somalis
outside the gate and there were AU forces at the gate - we have not yet
confirmed the casualty figure.”
The area surrounding
Mogadishu’s airport is designated a secure "green zone" for foreign
embassies as well as UN and AU peacekeeping forces.
Eight of the dead were UN
staff and three were civlians, with a further five people injured in the blast.
Ambulances have been seen
taking those caught up in the attack to local hospitals.
People arriving on
international flights said the blasts shattered windows in the airport
buildings.
Ali Nur, who had just got
off a plane from Nairobi, said: “We were greeted by two loud blasts. The glass
of the airport building fell on us.”
The African Union's AMISOM
force said on Twitter it condemned the "senseless attacks that aim to
disrupt and cripple the lives of ordinary Somalis".
what is the world turning into?
ReplyDelete