Friday, September 10, 2010
The attackers used two cars in the raid, one of which exploded near the airport's main entrance, the BBC reported Friday.
After the first vehicle exploded, a second car pulled up and insurgents jumped out and opened fire, killing two African Union peacekeepers.
The number of dead and injured was unclear, but witnesses said all the insurgents were killed, along with two women who were begging outside the airport entrance.
One report said nine were killed, not counting the attackers.
Airport officials said African Union soldiers stopped the first car before it entered the airport. It was first believed the car carried a bomb that exploded, but an official said government troops destroyed the vehicle with a rocket-propelled grenade, the report said.
Five militants wearing suicide vests reportedly blew themselves up as they tried to reach the airport terminal.
Attacks by al-Shabaab have intensified in recent weeks, despite pleas for calm during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, an official said.
"They have deliberately triggered violence across the city, killing and injuring civilians and soldiers alike," said Abdirahman Omar Osman, Mogadishu minister of information. "They offer nothing but terror, intimidation and the defiling of our culture."
Source:UPI