Somali jihad update: “At Least 7 Die In Suicide Attack As Clashes Intensify In Somali Capital,” by Mayur Pahilajani for AHN, May 24:
Mogadishu, Somalia (AHN) – At least seven people were killed in Somali capital city of Mogadishu after a suicide bomber attacked as the government forces and hardline Islamist fighters clashed in the central region of the war-torn country.
According to reports, a bomber rammed a truck laden with explosives at the gate of a military base and detonated it in front of the guards.
The attack killed a civilian and six government security personnel. At least seven people were wounded, who were taken to a nearby hospital.
The deadly blast was carried out two weeks after the intense fighting with the Islamist insurgent groups like Al-Shabab and Hisb-ul-Islam groups.[…]
The Islamist militants reportedly have fired mortar bombs at the AU peacekeepers and the presidential palace as fighting rages on Saturday night.
The government troops have reported that the militants are backed by foreign fighters. The AU peacekeepers have called on the United Nations to implement sanctions on Eritrea for allegedly supporting the militants in Mogadishu.
The hard-line Al-Shabab group is reportedly planning to overthrow the transitional government led by moderate Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who was elected by a unity government in January.
He is being holed up in his compound along with the AU peacekeepers and government guards as the battle intensify.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that the internally displaced people are moving to makeshift camps south-west of the capital that already are home to some 400,000 people…