Somalia: US military base attacked by militants

A United States military base was attacked by suspected al-Shabab militants in Somalia on Monday, according to media reports.

A United States military base was attacked by al-Shabab militants in Somalia on Monday, according to media reports. A suicide car bomber detonated vehicle packed with explosives at the gate of military airstrip which is a base for US and Somali forces, media reports said quoting a Somali official.

Somalia's Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, have claimed the responsibility for the attack. In a statement, Al-Shabaab said: "In the early hours of Monday morning, an elite unit of soldiers... launched a daring raid on the US military base" in Baledogle. "After breaching the perimeters of the heavily fortified base, the Mujahideen (holy fighters) stormed the military complex, engaging the crusaders in an intense firefight."

The US military uses Belidogle airstrip in the Lower Shabelle region as a base where it launches drones that attack al-Shabab and trains Somali troops. The military base is located northwest of the Somali capital of Mogadishu.

Al Shabaab was forced out of Mogadishu in 2011 and has since lost most of its other strongholds. But its fighters frequently carry out attacks in Somalia and neighboring Kenya, whose troops form part of an African peacekeeping force.

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