Bomb kills 8 Somali soldiers in Mogadishu-officials
Thu Aug 9, 2012 10:01am GMT
By Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar
MOGADISHU Aug 9 (Reuters) - At least eight Somali government troops were
killed when a remote-controlled bomb hit their vehicle in Mogadishu,
officials said on Thursday, highlighting lingering security risks less than
two weeks before the U.N.-backed government's mandate ends.
Somalia's Islamist al Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the attack on
Wednesday evening.
Government troops and African Union peacekeepers say they have tightened
security before a presidential election on August 20 when the transitional
government will be dissolved.
A combined force including Kenyan, Burundian, Ethiopian and Djiboutian
troops is planning an offensive on Kismayu, Somalia's second biggest city
and a hub for al Shabaab, before then.
Residents said the military vehicle had been destroyed by a roadside bomb in
the Huriwaa district of northern Mogadishu.
"A bomb killed eight soldiers and completely destroyed their pickup. Only
two, including the driver, survived with injuries," Mohamed Abdikadir, a
senior police officer, told Reuters.
Although Somali troops and peacekeepers of the African Union Mission in
Somalia (AMISOM) drove al Shabaab fighters from most of Mogadishu in August
2011, the latest bombing shows the militants can still stage deadly attacks
in the capital.
Al Shabaab has threatened more attacks as Somalia's three top government
officials and a dozen other politicians campaign for the presidency. Last
week the government foiled two would-be suicide bombers who targeted a
conference hall where delegates approved a draft constitution.
"We destroyed the government pickup yesterday," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab,
military spokesman for al Shabaab, told Reuters. "AMISOM and government
forces will never sleep or relax. More explosions await them."
On Tuesday, Uganda's military, which provides the bulk of peacekeeping
force, said it had deployed an air force contingent to reinforce the troops
in their fight against al Shabaab. (Reporting by Abdi Sheikh and Feisal
Omar; Editing by George Obultusa, Yara Bayoumy and Alistair Lyon)
C Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved
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Received on Thu Aug 09 2012 - 17:35:27 EDT
