Somali, AU Troops Regain Control of U.N. Compound after Attack
Somalia's al-Qaida linked Shebab insurgents shot and blasted their way into the United Nations compound in Mogadishu Wednesday, the most serious attack on the UN in the troubled country in recent years.
At least three civilians were killed in the streets outside the compound as Somali and African Union troops forced their way into the complex -- despite the Islamists battling back with heavy gunfire -- to end the hour and an half seige.
There were no initial reports of U.N. casualties, although the Shebab claimed they had killed foreigners in the brazen daylight raid.
"The situation is under control now... Somali soldiers along with African Union forces stormed the compound and killed the attackers," said Somali police official Abdulahi Osman, without elaborating.
A U.N. source in Nairobi said it was believed all staff had reached a "safe room" inside the compound, and that there no reports of staff killed.
"We have confirmed three people were killed and six wounded outside the compound, civilians who were caught in the crossfire," Osman said.
The U.N. Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) said the compound -- home to U.N. humanitarian agencies -- had come under " complex attack", with the Shebab employing both a car bomb and suicide attackers to force their way into the fortified base.
"Our commandos attacked the U.N. compound... we set off an explosion and entered the compound," a senior Shebab official told Agence France Presse, adding they entered to attack "the infidel forces."
U.N. sources said a car bomb had been detonated shortly before midday (09:00 GMT), followed shortly by another blast, believed to have been a suicide bomber.
An AFP reporter near the scene of the attack reported heavy gunfire after a series of inital explosions, as the fighters battled with security forces.
Government-run Radio Mogadishu said the attack had started after a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of the complex.
The compound -- including both residential and office areas -- is a short distance from the airport zone, the base of the African Union troops, but is guarded by its own security officers.
"The fighting is over, there are many government soldiers all over the area... the attackers appear to have all been killed," said witness Ahmed Sudi.
Somalia's capital has been hit by a series of attacks including suicide and car bombers, mortar attacks and shootings, although in recent weeks the city has been relatively calm.
Islamist Shebab militants used to control most of the seaside capital until they abandoned fixed positions in August 2011, but the insurgents have since carried out a string of attacks against the UN-backed government.
The last major attack was in April, when the Shebab sent a nine-man suicide commando unit to blast its way into Mogadishu's main court complex.
Some of the commandoes blew up their explosives vests while others sprayed gunfire in a rampage that killed 34 people.
Reports suggest that the attack on the U.N. compound used similar tactics to the courthouse assault.
The 17,000-strong AU force, fighting alongside Somali government troops, has forced the Shebab from a series of key towns.
While riven by infighting and hunted by U.S. drones, Shebab extremists remain a potent threat, launching car bombs and assassinations, and are still powerful in rural areas as well as reportedly infiltrating the security forces.
In 2008 a car bomb attack on the compound of the U.N. Development Program in the self-declared independent state of Somaliland left two U.N. staff members dead.
Source: Agence France Presse
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