Al-Shabaab launches mortar attacks near Somalia’s main airport

MOGADISHU: Al-Shabaab militants fired multiple mortar rounds near Mogadishu´s airport on Sunday morning, disrupting international flights to Somalia, a security official told AFP.

The attack comes just weeks after a roadside bomb blast narrowly missed the convoy of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, with Al-Shabaab claiming responsibility. According to security sources, the mortars were launched from the outskirts of Mogadishu and landed in an open area of Aden Adde International Airport. “There were about two to three mortar shells that struck an open area of the airport early this morning,” a security official, who requested anonymity, told AFP. A Turkish plane scheduled to land at the airport was rerouted to Djibouti, an airport employee said, also speaking on condition of anonymity. He added that they were informed EgyptAir had also cancelled its flight for the day. Halane camp — a heavily fortified compound that houses the United Nations, aid agencies, foreign missions, and the headquarters of the UN-backed African Union Transition Mission (ATMIS) — was also targeted, according to ATMIS spokesman Lt. Col. Said Mwachinalo. “There has been shelling. Our team is currently on the ground making assessment,” Mwachinalo told AFP.