Three AU soldiers, civilian killed in Al-Shabaab attack on Somali base
Four suspected Shebab fighters are detained by Somalian national soldiers following a gun battle in Mogadishu that left four other suspects dead on December 26, 2014, a day after Shebab militants attacked the AMISOM force's heavily fortified headquarters in Somalia. PHOTO | MOHAMED ABDIWAHAB |
What you need to know:
- Some attackers said to have been wearing Somali national army uniform
- A Western security source said between 15 and 20 attackers were involved in the assault.
MOGADISHU, Friday
Three African Union soldiers and a civilian were killed on Thursday after Al-Shabaab militants staged a brazen attack on the force’s heavily fortified headquarters in Somalia.
The AU force known as Amisom said troops regained control of the base in Mogadishu after a gunfight that left five of the attackers dead while three others were captured.
“Three Amisom soldiers and a civilian contractor unfortunately lost their lives,” Amisom said in a statement, updating earlier information that said the four had been injured in the Christmas Day attack.
The statement did not mention the nationalities of the victims, but a contingent of Ugandan soldiers is in charge of the base.
Amisom said some of the attackers were wearing Somali national army uniforms when they “breached the base camp around lunch hour and attempted to gain access to critical infrastructure”.
“Amisom has regained control of the Halane base camp and restored normalcy. All AU and United Nations personnel in the base camp are safe and secure,” the statement added.
The Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the attack almost as soon as the first shots rang out.
“Our fighters are inside the headquarters of the foreign troops in Somalia,” Shabaab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab told AFP earlier on Thursday, adding that several AU soldiers had been killed.
A Western security source said between 15 and 20 attackers were involved in the assault.
Paddy Ankunda, the Ugandan spokesman for Amisom, told AFP the assailants “sneaked into the base camp near the airport... but our troops foiled the attack.”
