It is noteworthy that al-Shabaab has stepped up its use of suicide bombers in recent weeks, even if this attack was, well, not exactly the product of stellar planning. Al-Shabaab has shown itself to have no particular qualms about squandering human life. “Somalia: Suicide bomber wounds 2 AU peacekeepers,” from the Associated Press, October 22 (thanks to Kenneth):
MOGADISHU, Somalia “” An African Union official says that a suicide bomber has blown himself up in Somalia’s capital, wounding two AU peacekeepers.
Biyereke Floribert, a spokesman for African Union peacekeepers, said Sunday that the bomber ran after a convoy of AU peacekeepers near the Tribunka square in Mogadishu before detonating the explosives.
Floribert blamed the attack on al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked group that is waging an insurgency against Somalia’s weak government.
Earlier this month al-Shabab militants blew up a truck bomb in the capital, killing more than 100 people in their deadliest single explosion.
African Union peacekeepers from Burundi and Uganda are supporting Somali forces in their battle against the militants.