2 soldiers killed in suicide attack on Somalia military base

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – At least two soldiers were killed and three wounded in a suicide attack on a military base in central Somalia on Friday.

The attack took place in Kalabeyr, an area on the outskirts of Beledweyne, capital of the Hiran region.

Soldiers managed to stop a truck rigged with explosives from entering a base that houses an elite Somali military unit.

It exploded near the entrance, killing two soldiers and wounding three others, Somali state television reported.

The attack was claimed by al-Shabaab, a terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaeda.

Somalia has been grappling with increasing insecurity for years, with al-Shabaab being one of the main threats in the Horn of Africa country.

Since at least 2007, al-Shabaab has waged a deadly campaign against the Somali government and international forces that has claimed thousands of lives.

The United Nations has also warned of growing instability in the country, with its periodic reports on Somalia this year detailing attacks by al-Shabaab and pro-Daesh/ISIS groups.

On Tuesday, two people were killed and several more wounded in a roadside explosion that targeted a security convoy in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu.

An al-Shabaab suicide attack last week killed at least a dozen people in Merca, capital of the Lower Shabelle region, including its mayor.

There were at least 1,518 civilian casualties – 651 killed and 867 injured – in terrorist attacks in Somalia in 2018, followed by 1,459 – 591 killed and 868 injured – in 2019, according to UN in Somalia.