Saturday, June 14, 2008

Islamists Claim Attack Targeting Somali President







Mogadishu, — The main Islamist insurgent group in Somalia claimed an attack targeting President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed as he was preparing to fly out of the country, according to a Internet statement on Friday.
" terror al shabaab launched a surprise attack on Thursday against the convoy of the apostate Abdullahi Yusuf... as he was heading to Mogadishu airport," said the statement published on a website used by radical groups including Al-Qaeda.
The president escaped the ambush but insurgents then fired mortar bombs at the airport, disrupting his travel, said the statement, whose authenticity could not be verified.
"Fighting erupted between the mujahedeen and the presidential guard, Ethiopian crusader forces and African Union mercenaries on the road to the airport," it added.
An African Union peacekeeper had said that three mortar shells exploded at Mogadishu airport on Thursday as Yusuf's plane was preparing to take off for Addis Ababa, but that no-one was injured.
However, five civilians were killed in the fighting on Thursday between Islamist insurgents and Somali forces, which are backed by Ethiopian troops

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