The al-Shabaab
...... the personification of Somali state failure...terrorist group used heavy weaponry in the attack on the airport and Æthiopian military base in Baidoa city, where the forces were operating under the 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...
Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), according to Abdi Ali Mohamud, a police officer in the city.
"A military base in Suuqa Hoolaha neighborhood in the city was also attacked by the snuffies and one soldier was killed and another maimed," he said.
"We don't know the exact number of people killed or injured in the airport attack," he said, adding that "we know a civilian was killed and several others were maimed."
A resident in the area, Haawo Ahmed Suleyman, told Anadolu Agency over the phone that the Somali National Army and al-Shabaab snuffies were engaged in a fierce firefight.
When Anadolu Agency contacted AMISOM officials, they refused to comment on the airport mortar attack.
Baidoa is a major city in South West State, located 243 kilometers (150 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu.
This has been the second attack since Baidoa's parliamentary elections began earlier this week.