Three Killed In Attack Near Somali Capital Airport

Mogadishu, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Mar, 2022 ) :At least three people were killed in an attack near Mogadishu's airport Wednesday as gunmen attempted to storm a heavily fortified area of the Somali capital, police said, with Al-Shabaab insurgents claiming responsibility.

Witnesses reported hearing heavy gunfire while public broadcaster Somali National Television said on Twitter that security forces were "attending a terrorist incident at one of main gates of Mogadishus Halane compound".

The airport complex houses the United Nations, aid agencies, foreign missions and contractors, and the headquarters of the African Union military mission, AMISOM.

"The two attackers were killed and the situation is back to normal now," said Ibrahim Mohamed, a police officer at the airport.

"One police officer, (an) AMISOM peacekeeper and a civilian died in the armed confrontation. Seven others, most of them security forces, were also wounded," he added.

Witnesses inside the complex said the attack lasted around 45 minutes, with a gas station catching fire and sending smoke billowing into the sky.

"All the camps in the complex were locked down briefly but we managed to get out later after the situation returned to normal," said Ismahan Hassan, a cleaner at a restaurant there.

Al-Shabaab, which has been waging a violent insurgency against the country's fragile government for over a decade, said it carried out the attack.