Witness: 11 dead in Somalia suicide car bombings
Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 9:15 am
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Suicide bombers in two explosives-laden cars with U.N. logos drove onto the main base of African Union peacekeepers Thursday and triggered massive blasts reportedly killed at least 11 people. Islamist insurgents said the attack was in revenge for a U.S. commando raid that killed an al-Qaida operative.
The attack broke windows over a wide area and shrouded the sky in black smoke. It was one of the most brazen by the al-Shabab insurgent movement and underscores the level of lawlessness and violence to which Somalia has fallen. Many experts fear the country is becoming a haven for al-Qaida, offering a place for terrorists to train and gather strength — much like Afghanistan in the 1990s.
The attack showed sophistication and planning. Al-Qaida and al-Shabab allegedly have links, though the local group denies this.
"I have counted the bodies of 11 people," the witness said, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisal. She said she recognized some of the dead as peacekeepers, but that could not immediately be confirmed. The AU said peacekeepers were wounded in the attack at Mogadishu's airport, but did not elaborate.
An hour after the car bombs, an AP reporter saw missiles fired from the AU base that was attacked strike rebel-controlled areas of the capital. Several civilians were hit. A young woman and a girl lay dead on the street, blood streaming from their wounds. Ali Muse of the Mogadishu ambulance service said the missiles killed seven people and wounded 16.
The African Medical and Research Foundation, which operates a flying doctors service, said the U.N. asked for help evacuating 15 critically injured people from the attacked base. Bob Kioko, a foundation spokesman, said it was sending four planes.
Al-Shabab, a powerful local Islamist insurgent group, claimed responsibility for the car bombings. Al-Shabab had vowed to attack Western interests after a raid Monday by helicopter-borne U.S. special forces that killed Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, an al-Qaida operative, in southern Somalia.
The U.S. and the U.N. both support Somalia's government and the African peacekeeping force.
Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, an al-Shabab spokesman, said five of the group's fighters died in the attacks. It was not immediately clear if they were among the 11 corpses seen at the airport.
An airport security officer said the explosions were caused by two white Land Cruisers with United Nations logos.
"The soldiers at the gate assumed they were U.N. cars and opened the gate for them," the security official said, asking that his name not be used because he is not authorized to speak to the media. "When the cars entered one of them sped toward a petrol depot and exploded. The other one exploded in a nearby area."
U.N. spokeswoman Benedicte Walter says the organization has not confirmed the vehicles used were U.N. cars.
France condemned the attack on the AU base and said it is considering using military means to reach and help the wounded, according to a statement from the French Foreign Ministry. Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero would not elaborate.
Suicide attacks — virtually unheard of in Somalia before 2007 — have increased in Somalia in recent years. Still, far more casualties are caused from gunbattles and mortar fire. There have been about a dozen suicide attacks since Islamic insurgents stepped up their attacks against the Western-backed backed government in 2007.
In a statement, the AU said it would remain "resolute in its commitment to support the Somali people." The peacekeeping force has long lamented that it is undermanned. Out of a planned 8,000 troops, there are fewer than 5,000.
Earlier Thursday, al-Shabab issued conditions for the release of a French security agent being held hostage, demanding that France stop supporting Somalia's government and withdraw its warships from anti-piracy patrols.
The French government immediately rejected the conditions.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told France-Info radio that Paris' support for the embattled Somali government remains firm, noting he has twice met with Somali President Sheik Sharif and his ministers, who "represent Somalia."
Al-Shabab also demanded that France exert pressure to force African Union peacekeepers out of the country and "release all the prisoners of the holy warriors held in many areas, which we will reveal later."
The Frenchman, whose identity has not been released, was seized along with another agent July 14 in the capital, Mogadishu. The pair were in the country to train Somali government forces, which are fighting Islamist militiamen.
The kidnappers separated the two men. The other agent escaped in August while his captors slept.
Al-Shabab vowed on Tuesday to retaliate against Western interests for Monday's U.S.-led commando raid in rural southern Somalia that left six dead, including Nabhan, one of the most-wanted al-Qaida operatives in the region.
The use of a helicopter attack rather than a missile strike from the sea or an unmanned Predator drone, suggests that the U.S. wanted to both prevent any civilian deaths and minimize local anger. But al-Shabab vowed swift retaliation.
The attack broke windows over a wide area and shrouded the sky in black smoke. It was one of the most brazen by the al-Shabab insurgent movement and underscores the level of lawlessness and violence to which Somalia has fallen. Many experts fear the country is becoming a haven for al-Qaida, offering a place for terrorists to train and gather strength — much like Afghanistan in the 1990s.
The attack showed sophistication and planning. Al-Qaida and al-Shabab allegedly have links, though the local group denies this.
"I have counted the bodies of 11 people," the witness said, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisal. She said she recognized some of the dead as peacekeepers, but that could not immediately be confirmed. The AU said peacekeepers were wounded in the attack at Mogadishu's airport, but did not elaborate.
An hour after the car bombs, an AP reporter saw missiles fired from the AU base that was attacked strike rebel-controlled areas of the capital. Several civilians were hit. A young woman and a girl lay dead on the street, blood streaming from their wounds. Ali Muse of the Mogadishu ambulance service said the missiles killed seven people and wounded 16.
The African Medical and Research Foundation, which operates a flying doctors service, said the U.N. asked for help evacuating 15 critically injured people from the attacked base. Bob Kioko, a foundation spokesman, said it was sending four planes.
Al-Shabab, a powerful local Islamist insurgent group, claimed responsibility for the car bombings. Al-Shabab had vowed to attack Western interests after a raid Monday by helicopter-borne U.S. special forces that killed Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, an al-Qaida operative, in southern Somalia.
The U.S. and the U.N. both support Somalia's government and the African peacekeeping force.
Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, an al-Shabab spokesman, said five of the group's fighters died in the attacks. It was not immediately clear if they were among the 11 corpses seen at the airport.
An airport security officer said the explosions were caused by two white Land Cruisers with United Nations logos.
"The soldiers at the gate assumed they were U.N. cars and opened the gate for them," the security official said, asking that his name not be used because he is not authorized to speak to the media. "When the cars entered one of them sped toward a petrol depot and exploded. The other one exploded in a nearby area."
U.N. spokeswoman Benedicte Walter says the organization has not confirmed the vehicles used were U.N. cars.
France condemned the attack on the AU base and said it is considering using military means to reach and help the wounded, according to a statement from the French Foreign Ministry. Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero would not elaborate.
Suicide attacks — virtually unheard of in Somalia before 2007 — have increased in Somalia in recent years. Still, far more casualties are caused from gunbattles and mortar fire. There have been about a dozen suicide attacks since Islamic insurgents stepped up their attacks against the Western-backed backed government in 2007.
In a statement, the AU said it would remain "resolute in its commitment to support the Somali people." The peacekeeping force has long lamented that it is undermanned. Out of a planned 8,000 troops, there are fewer than 5,000.
Earlier Thursday, al-Shabab issued conditions for the release of a French security agent being held hostage, demanding that France stop supporting Somalia's government and withdraw its warships from anti-piracy patrols.
The French government immediately rejected the conditions.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told France-Info radio that Paris' support for the embattled Somali government remains firm, noting he has twice met with Somali President Sheik Sharif and his ministers, who "represent Somalia."
Al-Shabab also demanded that France exert pressure to force African Union peacekeepers out of the country and "release all the prisoners of the holy warriors held in many areas, which we will reveal later."
The Frenchman, whose identity has not been released, was seized along with another agent July 14 in the capital, Mogadishu. The pair were in the country to train Somali government forces, which are fighting Islamist militiamen.
The kidnappers separated the two men. The other agent escaped in August while his captors slept.
Al-Shabab vowed on Tuesday to retaliate against Western interests for Monday's U.S.-led commando raid in rural southern Somalia that left six dead, including Nabhan, one of the most-wanted al-Qaida operatives in the region.
The use of a helicopter attack rather than a missile strike from the sea or an unmanned Predator drone, suggests that the U.S. wanted to both prevent any civilian deaths and minimize local anger. But al-Shabab vowed swift retaliation.
