|
Somali Shebab Suicide Commandos Attack Buuloburde Hotel
[An Nahar] Somalia's Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab attacked a hotel crowded with army officers in a southern town days after African Union...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... troops celebrated its capture from the Islamists, security officials said Tuesday. A jacket wallah rammed a car packed full of explosives into the hotel, with gunnies then attacking, killing at least eight people, residents said. The attack is the latest by the Shabaab, launched in apparent retaliation to a new offensive to root them out of the troubled country. Troops from neighboring countries, which also face attacks on their own soil, are also fighting the Shabaab in Somalia. "There was a suicide kaboom involving turbans at a hotel in Buulo Burde," security official Sulieman Adam told AFP, of the attack that took place in the early hours of Tuesday morning. "Four of the attackers were also killed," he added. AU envoy to Somalia, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, condemned the "cowardly attack" and confirmed that both AU troops from Djibouti and Somali troops had been killed, but without giving exact numbers. AU soldiers, who are fighting the Shabaab alongside Somali government troops, captured the small town from the Islamists last week. Shabaab front man Abdiaziz Abu Musab grabbed credit for the attack, boasting of killing bigwigs and telling AFP that the Shabaab were still in control of parts of the town. Residents said that at least eight people were killed in the attack, but there was no official toll. "A suicide bomber drove his car packed with explosives into the hotel, and there was a big kaboom, and then gunfire afterwards," said resident Moalim Mohammed Adan. Abdirahman Qalafe, who lives in a nearby village, confirmed the toll of eight, adding he had seen a military helicopter evacuate the maimed. "The helicopter landed and took around 11 maimed people away," he said. The Shabaab also grabbed credit for a boom-mobile on Monday targeting an AU convoy just outside the Somali capital, boasting of killing seven including three foreigners, although the AU force said there were no casualties. "These are hit and run attacks... They are losing ground, but are trying to terrorize the people," AU force front man Ali Houmed said. The U.N.-backed AU force this month launched a fresh offensive against Shabaab bases, with the gunnies largely fleeing ahead of the assault, only to later stage guerrilla attacks. Posted by: Fred 2014-03-19 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=387718 |