US military convoy attacked in Somalia capital

Scene of a massive explosion in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia on 14 October 2017 [Sadak Mohamed/Anadolu Agency]

A suicide car bomber attacked a United States military convoy alongside African Union troops yesterday, Garowe Online reported.

The attack took place in Weydow village, south-west of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu. The bomber killed two soldiers and injured several others.

The Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the attack and told Andalus, a Somalia based radio station, that five US soldiers were killed.

The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) has not commented on the incident.

The African Union troops were escorting US soldiers who were travelling from an air force base in the Lower Shabelle region to Mogadishu.

Al-Shabaab frequently executes attacks in Mogadishu, targeting civilian populated areas.

The United States has increased counter-terrorism operations in Somalia since 2012 when Al-Shabaab pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda. The US is also countering the emerging threat of Daesh in Somalia and north-eastern Puntland.

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.