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Al-Shaabab suicide attack kills 2 in Somalia

March 2, 2018 at 11:53 am

Al-Shabaab militants [Twitter]

A suicide attack on a security checkpoint near the Somali capital Mogadishu killed two officers yesterday, Garowe Online reported.

A vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) detonated at the checkpoint when security officers were conducting checks, immediately killing two officers in the Siinka Dheer area, 15 kilometres northwest of Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab claimed that it killed more than 20 security officers in the operation on open source networks.

The attack comes one day before the African Union Mission (AMISOM) was set to meet in Uganda, to discuss the risks behind its decision to rescind its footprint in Somalia amid the increasing transnational threat posed by Al-Shabaab. While AMISOM has had some success against Al-Shabaab in Somalia, low funding for the mission has paved the way for further attacks by Al-Shabaab in civilian populated and cross-border hostility.

Since late last year, AMISOM countries participating in the fight against the Al-Qaeda allied group have withdrawn. By 2020, all countries part of AMISOM plan to withdraw, leaving Somalia’s security and National Army with the sole responsibility for security.

Earlier this week it was reported that the US donated surveillance drones to Somalia to assist with monitoring armed groups. The US has executed strikes in Somalia since 2006, and the latest donation will assist with sharing “real time” intelligence on the ground between forces.

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Some 713 Somalis have been killed by the US and 60 injured since 2007, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, an organisation which tracks US strikes across the world.

In addition to US military presence in Somalia, Britain has deployed a special regiment of 85 military personnel to train and work with AMISOM. The regiment has been training local Somali forces, although it is not clear if they are contributing to US counter-terrorism operations which have killed innocent civilians in the past.