Roadside Bomb Kills 10 In Somali Capital

The Media Line Staff

At least six Somali government soldiers and four civilians were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Mogadishu Monday.
The bomb exploded next to a police pick-up truck as it was driving to police headquarters on KM4 street, a thoroughfare frequented by the government officials,
"I am here where the bomb blast took place," eyewitness Mohamed Abdullahi told The Media Line. "We are carrying out the bodies now; I can see five dead soldiers and four civilians."
Eight soldiers were also injured in the blast, according to Somali police official Mohamed Madobe. They have all been hospitalized.
There were no claims of responsibility at the time of printing.
Roadside bombs have increasingly been used against Somali government troops and AU peacekeepers in the country.
Witnesses said pro-government forces have regained control of a police station in the Yaqshid area Mogadishu, which was seized by Islamist insurgents a month ago.
Somalia has seen some of the worst fighting in years since President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, whose government only controls parts of Mogadishu, ordered a new offensive against Al-Shabab guerrillas earlier this month.
At least 200 people have been killed and 60,000 have fled the violence in Mogadishu.
The battles pit moderate Islamists and soldiers of the shaky, Western-supported transitional government against militants from Al Shabaab.
Originally the militant wing of the Islamic Courts Union, a group that controlled Mogadishu prior to the invasion by Ethiopian forces, Al Shabaab has made significant gains in the Horn of Africa nation and now controls much of Southern Somalia.
Al Shabaab captured Jowhar, the administrative capital of Somalia's fragile central government and seat of its parliament, less than two weeks ago.
Western government's fear that Somalia's instability may provide a safe haven for terrorist groups, and some foreign militants are believed to have entered Somalia to join Al Shabaab's ranks.
Al Shabab members have cited links with Al Qaeda although most analysts believe the affiliation to be minimal. The group has several thousand fighters divided into regional units which are thought to operate somewhat independently of one another.
The US has launched selected air strikes against Al Shabab leaders thought to have ties to Al Qaeda, but analysts say this has only increased their support among Somalis.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since the 1991 ouster of Mohamed Siad Barre. The ensuing years have seen a chaotic system of rival clans controlling various parts of the capital.
There are over two million internally displaced people in Somalia, and UN officials say there are over 1.3 million Somalis in need of emergency food aid with up to a fifth of the population is suffering from malnutrition.
Al Shabaab began an insurgency in late 2006 with assassinations and suicide bombings against the transitional government and aid workers, particularly in Mogadishu.
The Western-backed Ethiopian military invaded the country in 2007, but many analysts believe this augmented Al Shabaab's insurgency campaign, and battles between Al Shabaab and Ethiopian forces caused roughly 400,000 people to flee the capital in August, 2007.
The Ethiopians withdrew in January of this year after over 16 months of Al Shabaab attacks on its forces.
African Union (AU) peacekeepers have also been in the country since 2007, but have made little impact with just over 3,000 troops from Uganda and Burundi. 11 Burundian soldiers will killed by Al Shabaab in February of this year, the deadliest attack on AU peacekeepers since their deployment.
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the new President of Somalia's battered government, is an Islamist supportive of sharia law. He seeks to integrate Al Shabaab fighters into the transitional government's forces.

Read more: "Roadside Bomb Kills 10 In Somali Capital | AHN | June 2, 2009" - http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7015342819#ixzz0HG1KZBMH&A