Thursday, September 17, 2009
The witness, who didn't want to be named, told The Associated Press that she counted the bodies at the scene of the blast Thursday in the Somalian capital. It was unclear whether the attackers were among the dead.
Suicide bombers in cars marked with United Nations logos drove unchallenged into the peacekeepers' main base near the airport, setting off a massive blast that rocked Somalia's capital, officials said.
The African Medican and Research Foundation said that the UN has asked for help evacuating 15 "critically injured" people. The AU said some peacekeepers were wounded in the attack, but didn't provide any details.
"When the cars entered, one of them sped toward a petrol depot and exploded. The other one exploded in a nearby area," a security official at the airport said.
Somalia's al-Shabab rebels took credit for the attack, saying the two suicide car bomb attacks were their revenge for the U.S. killing of a most-wanted al-Qaeda militant this week.
U.S. special forces killed Kenyan-born Salah Ali Saleh Nabhan on Monday during a raid in southern Somalia. He was wanted for the 2002 bombing of the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel in Kenya that killed 15 people.
French security agent still being held by rebels
Al-Shabab is still holding a French security agent captive. Early Thursday, the rebel group issued conditions for his release. They demanded that France stop supporting Somalia's government and withdraw its warships from anti-piracy patrols.
The French government immediately rejected the conditions.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told France-Info radio that Paris's support for the embattled Somali government remains firm, noting he has twice met with Somali President Sheikh Sharif and his ministers, who "represent Somalia."
Al-Shabab also demanded that France exert pressure to force African Union peacekeepers out of the country and "release all the prisoners of the holy warriors held in many areas, which we will reveal later."
With files from The Associated Press