Extremists launch 2 attacks on military targets in Somalia
Somalia’s Islamic extremist rebels on Monday
launched two attacks on US and European military targets, The Washington Post
quoted officials as saying.
The first attack was on a military airstrip which is
a base for US and Somalia forces in the Lower Shabelle region in southern
Somalia. A suicide car bomber detonated a vehicle packed with explosives at the
gate of the Belidogle airstrip, said Yusuf Abdourahman, a security official
with the Lower Shabelle regional administration. Bursts of gunfire could be
heard across the base after bombing, suggesting an ongoing attack on the base.
Somalia’s Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, have
claimed the responsibility for the attack.
The US military uses the Belidogle airstrip base to
launch drones that attack al-Shabab targets and to train Somali troops.
The second attack was by a suicide car bomber
targeting Italian peacekeepers in Mogadishu. The explosion missed the European
Union peacekeepers but injured Somali civilians who were nearby, according to
reports.
