(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Four fighters from Somalia's Al Qaeda-linked Shebaab rebels were killed and another four captured in an attack by the Islamists against an African Union command centre, officials said yesterday.
The militants launched an assault on the AU force's heavily fortified headquarters in Mogadishu on Thursday, killing three soldiers from the union's local peacekeeping mission known as AMISOM and a civilian
contractor.
"The security forces foiled the attack and killed four of the attackers, and we have arrested four suspects," Somali interior ministry spokesman Mohamed Yusuf said. "Four other people, among them (an) airport worker, were also killed."
Shebaab claimed its militants had managed to keep fighting into yesterday, although officials said the attack was brought to an end late on Thursday.
Officials did not give the nationalities of the AMISOM troops who were killed, but a contingent of Ugandan soldiers is in charge of the base.
The Shebaab, who are fighting to topple Somalia's internationally-backed government, said it carried out the attack against what it said were "Ugandan
mercenaries".
The AU force headquarters is a fortified structure located on the grounds of the Mogadishu airport, which is also under high security.
The AMISOM force, deployed since 2007, currently counts some 22,000 African
Union troops.
They have managed to push Shebaab militants out of the capital, but the Islamists still hold large swathes of territory in the south and centre of the country.
Recent Shebaab attacks in Somalia have targeted key government and security sites in an apparent bid to discredit claims by the authorities and African Union troops that they are
winning the war.
Thursday's attack came a day after Somalia's parliament endorsed a new prime minister, appointed last week after the war-torn country's president fell out with the previous premier amid bitter infighting.
The UN, US and EU - all key backers of Somalia's fragile government - have warned that power struggles in Mogadishu were a damaging distraction for the country as it tries to battle the Shebaab rebels.
AU representative in Somalia and the head of the AMISOM force, Maman Sidikou, said the attack only reinforced "the determination of the Somali government as well as the peace-loving people of Somalia".
"The goal to rid Somalia of terrorists will continue to be pursued relentlessly," he added.
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