Extremists launch 2 attacks on US, European targets in Somalia

By Abdi Guled The Associated Press

5 years ago

Somalis watch the wreckage of the car bomb after an attack on a European Union military convoy ... — Somalis watch the wreckage of the car bomb after an attack on a European Union military convoy in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Monday, Sept. 30, 2019. A Somali police officer says a suicide car bomber has targeted a European Union military convoy carrying Italian military trainers in the Somali capital Monday. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

A Somali woman watch the destruction after car bomb attack on a European Union military convoy in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Monday, Sept. 30, 2019. A Somali police officer says a suicide car bomber has targeted a European Union military convoy carrying Italian military trainers in the Somali capital Monday. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

A member of the Italian military stands next to a damaged armored personnel carrier after an attack on a European Union military convoy in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Monday, Sept. 30, 2019. A Somali police officer says a suicide car bomber has targeted a European Union military convoy carrying Italian military trainers in the Somali capital Monday. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

A member of the Italian military stands next to a damaged armored personnel carrier after an attack on a European Union military convoy in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia, Monday, Sept. 30, 2019. A Somali police officer says a suicide car bomber has targeted a European Union military convoy carrying Italian military trainers in the Somali capital Monday. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s Islamic extremist rebels on Monday launched two attacks on U.S. and European military targets, officials said.

In the first attack, the Somali army says it repelled an attempt by al-Shabab to storm Belidogle military airstrip which hosts Somali and U.S. forces. The attack with double suicide bombings which were followed by heavy gunfire across the air base in the Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia, said Gen. Ahmed Yusuf, a senior Somali military officer based in Lower Shabelle region.

Somalia’s Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, have claimed the responsibility for the attack.

The U.S. military uses the Belidogle airstrip base to launch drones that attack al-Shabab targets and to train Somali troops.

The second attack was by a suicide car bomber targeting Italian peacekeepers in Mogadishu. The explosion missed a convoy of the European Union peacekeepers but injured Somali civilians who were nearby, according to reports.