RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service

2010-09-09 16:26:25 - Terror Attack - Somalia

At least eight people have been killed in a car bomb attack and gun battle at Somalia's main airport in Mogadishu, officials say. Insurgents opened fire on African Union peacekeepers after the initial explosion, airport officials said. Unconfirmed reports say AU soldiers and insurgents were killed in the battle. The hard-line Islamist group al-Shabab, which is fighting the government for control of the country, has reportedly said it carried out the attack. The government confirmed that two AU soldiers and three civilians were among the dead. Minister of Information Abdirahman Omar Osman said in a statement that al-Shabab had ignored pleas to allow people to celebrate the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in peace. "They have deliberately triggered violence across the city, killing and injuring civilians and soldiers alike," he said. "They offer nothing but terror, intimidation and the defiling of our culture." Airport officials told the BBC that AU forces had stopped the first vehicle as it drove towards the airport's main entrance. The vehicle exploded, and shortly afterwards insurgents arrived in another vehicle and began shooting. It is still unclear how many people died in the attack. The government confirmed that insurgents had killed five people. But witnesses and other officials put the death toll higher. In addition, a number of insurgents were killed in the gun battle, and it appears that more than one suicide attacker died. Mogadishu's airport, of huge strategic importance, is one of the few parts of the capital controlled by forces from the AU and the government. Mohammed Abdi, a local shopkeeper, told Reuters news agency that he had witnessed two explosions at the airport's heavily fortified main entrance. "The car powerfully rammed an Amisom [African Union Mission in Somalia] troops' post at the airport's gate," he said. He said he had seen eight bodies, including several AU soldiers.

Posted:2010-09-09 16:26:25 [UTC]