Salah Nuh Ismail, also known as Salah Badbado, and an unknown second suicide bomber detonated cars loaded with explosives at the gates of the main base of the African Union (AU) on Tuesday morning. One of the attackers set off a vehicle bomb and the other tried to storm the base but was shot-and exploded-before he was able to get inside, according to the news agency.
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At least three civilians were confirmed dead in the attack, senior Somali police officer Ali Hassan said.
The security source said casualties are expected among Somali security forces, AU and private security guards.
Al-Shabaab fighters, who years ago pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda but are opposed to the Islamic State (ISIL), have routinely carried out attacks and suicide bombings against global forces in and around Mogadishu.
Captain Mohamed Hussein said Tuesday unlike previous attacks blamed on the al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabaab, gunmen didn’t accompany the suicide bomber.
The mission described the attack “as another demonstration of al-Shabaab’s brutality in its efforts to destabilize Somalia and deny people a peaceful, prosperous future they deserve”. “We have killed dozens of them”, Abdulaziz Abu Muscab, a spokesman for the group, said.
“We can not assure the refugees that they will be safe, but we take precautions”, she said.
The Shabaab – a group fighting to overthrow the internationally backed government in Mogadishu – has also vowed retribution against “Western crusaders” who it says are guilty of offenses against Muslims in Somalia.
The force of the explosions shattered windows at Mogadishu’s nearby airport, showering arriving passengers with glass, said witnesses.
It has been increasing its attacks ahead of planned elections in Somalia.
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More than 22,000 peacekeepers serve in the African Union force, which includes troops from Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Ethiopia. Al-Shabab opposes the presence of foreign troops in Somalia.
