Al-Shabaab kill, wound dozens in Mogadishu
July 26, 2016, 10:15 pm

Al-Shabaab has waged a war in the capital Mogadishu and neighboring countries against those who support the Western-backed government in Somalia. In this archive picture, Somali soldiers inspect a car damaged in the attacks which killed at least 20 people in Mogadishu February 20 [Xinhua]

They had tried to breach the security compound wall housing UN and African Union peacekeepers near the airport, but were stopped at a checkpoint on the road leading to the base.

An African Union spokesperson said that none of their contingent had been killed but that civilians on the road were caught in the explosion.

Al-Shabaab fighters, who years ago pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda but are opposed to the Islamic State (ISIL), have routinely carried out attacks and suicide bombings against international forces in and around Mogadishu.

They have lost territory since international forces pushed them out of the capital but have nonetheless retained their deadly capacity to carry out effective and fatal attacks throughout the country.

Al-Shabaab have also carried out cross border raids into neighbouring Kenya as a means to pressure the Nairobi government to withdraw its forces from the African Union deployment in Somalia.

Attacks carried out by Al-Shabaab infiltrators are not uncommon in border area. In June, five Kenyan policemen were killed in an attack also believed to be the work of Al-Shabaab.

In April 2015, more than 147 people were killed when Al-Shabaab terrorists stormed Garissa University near the Somali border in eastern Kenya and began “firing indiscriminately”.

Al-Shabaab leaders based in Somalia have waged a war against the UN and African Union forces for the past several years. They blame these organizations for supporting what they say is an illegitimate government in the capital Mogadishu.

The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies