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Suicide Bombing Targets AMISOM Base in Mogadishu

   African  Union forces destroy explosive-filled truck before it reaches
   new base in Somali capital, killing three attackers

   VOA News 27 April 2010

   The  African  Union  peacekeeping  force  in  Somalia  says two of its
   soldiers  have  been  wounded  in  a  suicide  attack  in the capital,
   Mogadishu.
   In an interview with VOA, an AU spokesman said three attackers drove a
   truck  filled  with  explosives  toward  a  new  AU  peacekeeping base
   Tuesday, prompting soldiers to open fire.
   The  spokesman,  Major  Barigye  Ba-Huko, says AU forces destroyed the
   truck  before it reached its target, killing all three people inside.Â
   He says two soldiers were wounded when the explosion went off.
   Major  Ba-Huko  says  the  AU mission had received information about a
   possible  attack on the new base about three days ago and peacekeepers
   were ready for it.
   The  Associated  Press  says the al-Qaida linked rebel group al-Shabab
   has claimed responsibility for the attack.
   Al-Shabab and other Islamic insurgent groups control much of Mogadishu
   along with large parts of southern and central Somalia. The groups are
   fighting  to  impose  a  strict form of sharia, or Islamic law, on the
   country.
   AU  peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi are supporting the government
   and frequently clash with the insurgents.
   War-torn Somalia has not had a stable central government since 1991.

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