Extremists launch 2 attacks on US, European targets in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s Islamic extremist rebels on Monday launched two attacks on U.S. and European military targets, officials said.

In the first attack, the Somali army says it repelled an attempt by al-Shabab to storm Belidogle military airstrip which hosts Somali and U.S. forces. The attack with double suicide bombings which were followed by heavy gunfire across the air base in the Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia, said Gen. Ahmed Yusuf, a senior Somali military officer based in Lower Shabelle region.

Somalia’s Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, have claimed the responsibility for the attack.

The U.S. military uses the Belidogle airstrip base to launch drones that attack al-Shabab targets and to train Somali troops.

The second attack was by a suicide car bomber targeting Italian peacekeepers in Mogadishu. The explosion missed a convoy of the European Union peacekeepers but injured Somali civilians who were nearby, according to reports.