Al-Shabaab targets airport in Somalia's Jowhar city

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – Somali-based terrorist group al-Shabaab Thursday targeted the Jowhar city airport with mortars, a local official confirmed.

Jowhar is the provincial capital of Middle Shabelle located 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency over the phone, Abdi Ahmed, a local administrator in the region, confirmed the mortar attack but declined to say if there were casualties.

“The AMISOM (African Union Mission to Somalia) soldiers in the facility told me the attack caused some destruction,” he said, without giving further details.

The al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had targeted Burundian peacekeepers serving under the AMISOM and “white” soldiers based at the airport.

Last month, al-Shabaab attacked a Buloburde airport, leaving one person dead and five injured.

The group also claimed Wednesday that it attacked a Kenyan defense forces convoy near the town of Ras Kamboni, lower Juba region, killing several Kenyan soldiers.

Ras Kamboni is a small town located 747 kilometers (464 miles) south of Mogadishu.