Thursday, September 9, 2010
By Ibrahim Mohamed and Abdi Guled
MOGADISHU |
Thu Sep 9, 2010 11:20am EDT
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Suicide bombers killed two African Union peacekeepers and a number of civilians at Mogadishu's airport on Thursday in the latest attack on the Somali capital by al Qaeda-linked rebels.
The African Union said two vehicles approached the airport's main gate, and one exploded killing the peacekeepers while two militants from the other car ran past the next line of defense and blew themselves up 200 meters from the terminal building.Al Shabaab insurgents stepped up their fight to topple the Western-backed administration last month and the government warned on Wednesday that it expected a spectacular attack to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.The rebels have used suicide bombers to devastating effect over the past two years, killing five government ministers and dozens of AU peacekeeping troops. Al Shabaab was also behind attacks in Uganda in July that killed at least 79 people."Al Shabaab has ignored the president's plea to allow the people of Mogadishu to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan in peace," the government said in a statement. "They offer nothing but terror, intimidation and the defiling of our culture."The government said three civi!
lians died in the attack. The African Union said three attackers wearing government combat uniforms were also killed although the full extent of the casualties was not yet clear.The attack came shortly after the U.N. envoy to Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, flew from the airport to Kenya following meetings with President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed."HOLY OPERATION"Abdi Muse, an airport worker, said terrified airline passengers and airport employees fled the site as gunfire reverberated around the airport.The AU force, known as AMISOM, said the airport was quickly locked down.It said at least one airline employee was killed inside the compound, which is next to the main base for the 7,200 peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi in Somalia."Our commandos today carried out a holy operation against the AMISOM airport base," said al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage."We killed a great number of AU invaders."Al Shabaab hit the AU base with twin suicide car bombs a year ago killing the de!
puty force commander and showing their ability to strike at th!
e heart
of the peacekeeping mission.The group controls much of the capital and large chunks of south and central Somalia. It has a number of foreign fighters in its ranks and has threatened neighboring countries deemed to be supporting the government.The peacekeepers in Mogadishu have focused their manpower on shielding the president and guarding the seaport and airport from the insurgents fighting to oust the president, himself a former Islamist rebel now seen as a Western puppet.Residents said there were also clashes along the strategic Maka al Mukarama road that runs from the airport toward the presidential palace in the center of the crumbling capital.With the government controlling small pockets of Mogadishu, the road is seen as a key supply route of essential foodstuffs and a lifeline for the country's politicians who shuttle between the city and neighboring Kenya by air.More than 230 civilians have been killed in the latest bout of violence in Mogadishu which began on August !
23 when al Shabaab vowed to intensify its jihad against the fragile government.(Additional reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by David Clarke and Sonya Hepinstall)(For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: af.reuters.com)
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