Militant group kills at least 12 in Somalia

Suicide bombers from al-Shabab attack near airport, U.N. bases

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Suicide bombers from the al-Shabab militant group killed at least 12 people in Somalia on Tuesday, staging attacks near the airport and bases for the United Nations and African Union in the capital, Mogadishu, officials said.

The car bombings took place around 9 a.m. local time.

The U.N. mission in Somalia said that at least a dozen people had been killed; Abdifatah Omar Halane, a spokesman for the Banadir region of Somalia, of which Mogadishu is also the capital, put the death toll at 13.

The African Union said that the blasts had occurred at checkpoints near an entrance to one of its bases, and images from the scene showed the mangled wreck of a vehicle on the road.

Both the U.N. and African Union missions said that none of their personnel were among the fatalities.

The United Nations said there were preliminary reports that an unknown number of guards it contracted had been killed.

The African Union’s mission in Somalia posted on Twitter that the organization “condemns these senseless attacks that aim to disrupt and cripple the lives of ordinary Somalis.”

“These attacks must be stopped,” it added.

Abdiaziz Abu Musab, a spokesman for al-Shabab, said in a broadcast on the group’s Andalus radio station that the militants claimed responsibility for the attack.

He did not say why the group had targeted the area, but al-Shabab militants have carried out multiple attacks in Somalia in recent weeks.

Somalia has grappled with chaos and violence since the collapse of its central government in 1991.

Since then, the country has been convulsed by clan-based violence — driven by a battle for resources and power — and widespread destruction. The government now controls a limited amount of territory, and it has long struggled just to maintain security in the capital.

Michael Keating, the U.N. envoy to Somalia, blamed al-Shabab for the attacks.

“The overwhelming majority of Somalis have rejected such terrorist tactics and the use of violence to achieve political objectives,” he said in a statement. “This horrific incident is a fresh example of the extremists’ desperate attempts to disrupt political progress. Neither the Somali authorities nor the United Nations will be deterred from moving forward.”