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Tag: Mogadishu

  • Huge blast heard in Somali capital Mogadishu

    A huge blast was heard in the heart of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Monday and clouds of smoke could be seen rising, a Reuters witness said.

    It was unclear what caused the explosion, however Islamist militant group al Shabaab frequently carries out bombings in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia against government military and other targets.

    The group is trying to remove the Western-backed central government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of sharia law.

    Al Shabaab’s militants also carry out attacks outside Somalia especially in Kenya to pressure the country to return its troops who form part of the peace keeping force AMISOM that helped defend the central government.

    Its latest assault in Kenya, a suicide and gun attack at an office and hotel complex in the capital Nairobi in January killed 21 people.

    NAN

  • Huge blast heard in Somali capital Mogadishu

    A huge blast was heard in the heart of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Monday and clouds of smoke could be seen rising, a Reuters witness said.

    It was unclear what caused the explosion, however Islamist militant group al Shabaab frequently carries out bombings in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia against government military and other targets.

    The group is trying to remove the Western-backed central government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of sharia law.

    Read Also: Somalia orders top UN official to leave over interference

    Al Shabaab’s militants also carry out attacks outside Somalia especially in Kenya to pressure the country to return its troops who form part of the peace keeping force AMISOM that helped defend the central government.

    Its latest assault in Kenya, a suicide and gun attack at an office and hotel complex in the capital Nairobi in january killed 21 people.

  • Many ‘killed’ in Mogadishu bomb blasts

    No fewer than 15 persons were Friday killed in triple bomb blasts at Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital city.

    The recent attacks came at the heels of the murder if four civilians by terrorists suspected to be members of the Al-Shabaab group.

    Read Also:Gunman kills Somali journalist in Mogadishu

    It was gathered that the Improvised Exclusive Devices (IEDs) were planted in vehicles which were abandoned at target locations and detonated with the use of remote controls.

    Two of the bombs, The Nation learnt, exploded at a hotel near Somalia’s Criminal Investigations Department.

    Our Correspondent who was on-board a Mine Resistant and Ambush Protective (MRAP) vehicle enroute an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp at Darkhnelyne, had heard two loud explosions at about 10am, but policemen accompanying the armoured tank told played down the cause of the blasts to avoid apprehension.

    However, hours later, news filtered in that casualties were recorded.

    A source who spoke to The Nation said there was intelligence report that VIEDs had been in the capital since last week.

    He said: “The threats have been very high. We got information that VIEDs have been in the capital since last week and security forces have been trying to locate them. We do not know the exact casualty recorded at the moment. That was why you people were hurried off the IDP camp and returned to secure zone.”

    AMISOM Force Public Information Officer Colonel Omuega said first responders had been deployed to the scene and were yet to return.

    “I cannot give you detailed information at the moment. First responders have been deployed and they are yet to return. You will get details when they get back,” Omuega said at a dinner organised for visiting journalists Friday night.

  • U.S. airstrike kills four al-Shabaab fighters

    U.S. airstrike kills four al-Shabaab fighters

    Four al-Shabaab fighters have been killed and a vehicle destroyed in a U.S. airstrike about 25 kilometres west of Somalia’s Capital, Mogadishu, U.S. Africa Command said on Thursday.

    According to a statement, no civilians were killed in the overnight strike that also destroyed a vehicle equipped with an explosive device, “preventing it from being used against the people in Mogadishu.’’

    The U.S. has been supporting operations against the Islamist militant group as part of its global fight against terrorism.

    The airstrike marks the second such attack this week.

    Read also: al-Shabaab executes four spies

    U.S. Africa Command said in a statement that it had killed 13 militia fighters in an airstrike in southern Somalia on Sunday.

    Al-Shabaab is seeking to establish an Islamist state in Somalia and is affiliated with the international al-Qaeda terrorist network.

    (dpa/NAN)

  • Car bomb kills Somali journalist

    Car bomb kills Somali journalist

    A Somali television journalist was killed in a car bombing in the capital Mogadishu on Monday, an editor for the TV station and local authorities said.

    Mohamed Gabow had borrowed the car from a friend, Mohamed Mustaf, an editor at Kalsan TV, told Reuters.

    “Unexpectedly it exploded and he died on the spot. We do not know who was behind it,” he added.

    Local government officials confirmed the incident.

    “The journalist … died after a bomb planted in a car he drove exploded.

    “His body has now been taken to a hospital. The police will investigate,” said Abdifatah Halane, the spokesman for the mayor of Mogadishu.

    Gabow is the fourth journalist killed this year in Somalia, currently ranked 167th out of 180 countries for journalist safety by Reporters Without Borders.

    Read Also: U.S. air strike kills 100 militants in Somali a – Military

    No group has ever claimed the killing of a journalist in the capital.

    Somalia has been convulsed by instability, violence and lawlessness since early 1990s following the toppling of military dictator Mohamed Barre.

  • Explosion in centre of Somali capital

    A loud explosion followed by gunfire was heard in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Monday and huge clouds of smoke could be seen, a Reuters witness said

    The witness said the cause of the blast was not immediately clear.

    NAN reports that on April 5, police say a car bomb rammed into a cafe in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, near the compounds housing the security and sports ministries, killing three.

    “A suicide car bomb hit a small restaurant near the sports and youth ministry. So far we have confirmed three civilians died,” Nur Aden, a police officer, told Reuters.

    The cause of the blast was still unclear, he said.

    In the past, al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants have taken responsibility for blasts and gun attacks in the capital and elsewhere in Somalia.

    NAN reports that on March 13, a large explosion hit Mogadishu, killing six people

     

  • AMISOM plans exit strategy in Somalia

    AMISOM plans exit strategy in Somalia

  • Death toll in Somalia beach restaurant attack rises to 10

    Somali police said the death toll from an attack late on Thursday by the Islamic militants on a seaside restaurant in Mogadishu had risen to 10.

    A Police Officer, Ali Abdullahi, said on Friday in Mogadishu that the attackers set off a car bomb at the Banadir restaurant at the city’s Lido beach before engaging security forces in a fight for several hours.

    He said that the casualties comprised six civilians, two members of the security forces and two of the attackers.

    Abdullahi said that the Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab had claimed the attack, which ended at about 3.a.m.

    The group has carried out a series of deadly attacks in Somalia to try to topple the Western-backed government.

  • UN condemns Al-Shabaab attack on Mogadishu hotel

    The UN Security Council has condemned the June 1 terrorist attack, which Al-Shabaab militants carried out on the Ambassador Hotel, Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital city.

    In a UN statement issued on Friday, the Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constituted one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.

    It stated that those responsible for these killings should be held accountable.

    The Council stressed the need to take measures that would prevent and suppress the financing of Al-Shabaab and other terrorist groups in Somalia.

    It reiterated its determination to support the peace and reconciliation process in Somalia, stressing that neither this nor any other terrorist attack would weaken that determination.

    A bomb and gun attack by Al-Shabaab militants on the hotel killed at least 16 people and wounded 55.

     

  • Mosque collapse injures dozens in Somali capital

    Mosque collapse injures dozens in Somali capital

    At least 30 people were injured on Friday when a mosque packed with worshippers collapsed in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, police said.

    The police also said that at least 200 people were reported to have been inside the mosque in Mogadishu’s north-western Hodan district during Friday prayers.

    Rescuers were searching for injured or dead victims among the rubble.

    Local official Ahmed Nur Abdi said the collapse may have been caused by ongoing repair work inside the mosque.