MOGADISHU: A roadside bomb apparently targeting a convoy of African Union peacekeepers killed a woman on Sunday in the Somali capital Mogadishu, witnesses said.Abdulle Mantaan, a staff officer at a nearby food distribution center, told Reuters the remote-controlled bomb had detonated as the second of two AU force armored vehicles drove by. A male passerby was also wounded.
“We heard a big bomb blast near us ... We took (the wounded man and woman) to Keysane hospital where the woman died of wounds after minutes. That mother used to come to our feeding center to collect biscuits for her malnourished children,” Mantaan said.
“The bomb was targeted at a convoy of AMISOM (AU peacekeeping forces). It detonated when the last car passed ... AMISOM soldiers glanced back at the scene but proceeded since the blast did not harm them,” he added.
The AU confirmed the attack. “We are safe, there has been no damage or injury. We know al Shabaab have left more explosive devices so we are always vigilant,” deputy AU spokesman Prosper Hakizimana told Reuters.