Mortar shells fired into homes in the Somali capital of Mogadishu has killed three people and wounded five, police and ambulance services said on Friday, a day after the government changed heads of security agencies. Police said they suspected al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab were behind the attack, in which mortar rounds landed on homes in Wadajir district, in the vicinity of Mogadishu airport.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters. </s> MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - A police officer says three civilians have been killed in a mortar attack in Somalia's capital.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein said Friday at least two mortars slammed into a residential area in Wadajir district. The area is near the heavily guarded Mogadishu airport, which has seen mortar attacks by extremists in the past.

There is no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack. It comes a day after President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed ordered a new offensive against the al-Shabab extremist group while offering the extremists a 60-day amnesty to surrender.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab has stepped up attacks across the Somali capital in recent weeks. </s> Three civilians have been killed in a mortar attack in Somalia's capital.

At least two mortars hit a residential area in Wadajir district in Mogadishu, a police spokesman said.

The area is near the heavily guarded Mogadishu airport, which has seen mortar attacks by extremists in the past.

The attack comes a day after President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed ordered a new offensive against the al-Shabab extremist group while offering the extremists a 60-day amnesty to surrender.

The al Qaida-linked group has stepped up attacks across the Somali capital in recent weeks. </s> MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Mortar shells fired into homes in the Somali capital of Mogadishu has killed three people and wounded five, police and ambulance services said on Friday, a day after the government changed heads of security agencies.

Police said they suspected al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab were behind the attack, in which mortar rounds landed on homes in Wadajir district, in the vicinity of Mogadishu airport.

“We have carried three dead women and five others injured, including a woman and children. Mortars landed on their home today,” Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of Amin ambulance services, told Reuters on Friday.

“Mortars believed to be fired by al Shabaab killed three people of the same family and injured several others. We are still investigating where they were fired from,” Osman Mohamed, a police officer, told Reuters on Friday.

Al Shabaab were not immediately reachable for comment. In the past, the group, which aims to impose its own harsh version of Islam in Somalia, has taken responsibility for blasts and gun attacks in the capital and elsewhere in Somalia.

On Thursday, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, replaced his security chiefs and called on al Shabaab fighters to surrender within 60 days in return for education and jobs.

Al Shabaab is carrying out increasingly deadly bombings despite losing most of its territory to a 22,000-strong African Union peacekeepers supporting the Somali government. </s> Five Kenyan police officers and three reservists were killed Sunday when their vehicle hit a homemade landmine in Wajir, northeast Kenya, a government official said.

 

 “We had an attack this afternoon and eight officers have been killed,” said northeastern regional coordinator, Mohamud Ali Saleh, the area’s top security official.

Saleh said the bombing occurred in Bojigaras, in the east of Wajir county.

“We suspect the involvement of the Shabaab and we are looking for them,” he added.

The use of improvised explosive devices against police and military patrols in the northern and eastern border regions with Somalia have become relatively common.

Over the past year, Shabaab insurgents, based in Somalia, have claimed several such attacks killing dozens of Kenyan police and soldiers. </s> "We had an attack this afternoon and eight officers have been killed," said northeastern regional coordinator, Mohamud Ali Saleh, the area's top security official.

Saleh said the bombing occurred in Bojigaras, in the east of Wajir county.

"We suspect the involvement of the Shabaab and we are looking for them," he added.

The use of improvised explosive devices against police and military patrols in the northern and eastern border regions with Somalia have become relatively common.

Over the past year, ‘Shabaab’ insurgents, based in Somalia, have claimed several such attacks killing dozens of Kenyan police and soldiers. </s> , NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 17 – Eight police officers were killed in an Al Shabaab attack in Wajir County on Sunday.

According to local police, five of those killed were Administration Police officers while the other three were Police Reservists.

North Eastern Regional Coordinator Muhammad Saleh told Capital Newsbeat that the officers died when their vehicle hit an Improvised Explosive Device at the Bojigaras area.

He blamed Al Shabaab militants for the attack, and said more security personnel have been deployed there.

Three attacks have been carried out by the Somalia-based militant group in the region since the beginning of 2018.

The first attack took place in January when a Safaricom communication mast was destroyed, paralysing communication in the country. More recently, on February 16, 2018 two teachers and one of their spouses were killed in Wajir, after suspected Al-Shabaab militants attacked the Qarsa Primary School.

During the attack, another teacher sustained bullet wounds on his hand. </s> A bomb killed up to five spectators at a football match in southern Somalia, police and a lawmaker said on Friday, the first time an explosion has targeted a stadium.

The blast went off in the port town of Barawe, in the Lower Shabelle region, when residents were watching a football match on Thursday afternoon, police said, adding that al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab could be behind the attack.

Police said it appeared to have been detonated by remote control.

“The bomb killed five people and injured a dozen others in the football field. All the casualties were from the onlookers,” Mahad Dhoore, a lawmaker for South West state told Reuters.

Police officer Mohamed Aden said al Shabaab group was suspected of being behind the attack and put the number of dead at four and wounded at 12.

“We believe al Shabaab was behind (it) and that the target was officials who were not seated there at the time of the match. The bomb looked like a remotely controlled one that was planted there,” Aden told Reuters from Barawe.

Al Shabaab are fighting to topple Somalia’s Western-backed central government and establish their own rule. </s> MOGADISHU - Somalia's Islamist group al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for an attack in which a US commando was killed and four others were wounded when they came under fire in the country.



The US special operations forces were fighting alongside about 800 troops from the Somali National Security Forces and Kenyan Defence Forces when they were attacked late on Friday by mortars and small arms fire.



"We attacked a military base ... killed one US soldier, two Kenyan soldiers and nine Somali soldiers from Jubbaland state. We also injured four US soldiers," Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military operations spokesman, told Reuters on late Friday.
Mortar rounds are fired in a neighborhood in Wadajir District, Somalia, killing three civilians. Al-Shabaab is suspected of being behind the attack.