European Union Training Mission Somalia PRESS SUMMARY 07th April 2018 “In ‘Media’ stat virtus Twin Bomb Blasts Kill 2 in Somalia's Capital, 4 Militants Eliminated – Reports 206.04.2018 - MOSCOW (Sputnik) - At least six individuals were killed and some others injured as a result of twin car bomb attacks in Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu, the Garowe Online news website reported Friday, citing security officials and eyewitnesses. The first explosives-laden car exploded near the city's Aden Abdulle Airport when intercepted by the local intelligence at the checkpoint, the media said. The bomber died, while three National Intelligence and Security Agency members were injured. READ MORE: Four Somali Officials Killed by Al-Shabab Militants in Mogadishu — Reports The second car blew up at another checkpoint near Sei Piano area. The blast killed two soldiers and wounded some others, while three militants were eliminated by the Somali troops. Al-Shabaab militants, who have sworn allegiance to the al-Qaeda terror group (banned in Russia), claimed responsibility for the attack. Somalia has been engulfed in violence since the eruption of a civil war between clan-based armed factions in the early 1990s. Al-Shabaab is staging numerous attacks across the country in an attempt to impose a radical version of Sharia law. https://sputniknews.com/africa/201804061063295074-twin-bomb-blast-somalia-militants/ Six killed in Mogadishu twin explosions Civilians look on as smoke billows from the scene of an explosion at a security checkpoint in the Hodan district of Mogadishu, Somalia on April 6, 2018. | Photo Credit: REUTER MOGADISHU:, April 07, 2018 In the second attack, two soldiers were killed after troops neutralised 3 militants who passed through a checkpoint with vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. At least six persons including two soldiers have been killed and several others injured in two separate explosions here. The police and witnesses said on Friday the first explosion occurred at a checkpoint along the road near the airport in Mogadishu after the vehicle had been intercepted by the security officers manning the checkpoint. The blast injured three soldiers while a bomber died, Xinhua reported. “The second blast occurred an hour later at another checkpoint in Sei piano in Hodan district [west of Mogadishu] a few minutes after Friday prayers,” said a police officer who declined to be named. He said two soldiers were killed after the security forces killed three militants who had passed through the checkpoint with vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED). Internal Security spokesman Abdiaziz Ali Ibrahim said security forces managed to thwart the deadly attack by the extremists. Mr. Ibrahim said the security officers managed to stop the suicide bomber but noted that the vehicle exploded after the security forces barred it from entering the road to the airport. http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/six-killed-in-mogadishu-twin- explosions/article23463374.ece Three Killed in Pair of Suicide Car Bombings in Somali Capital MOGADISHU, SOMALIA — April 06, 2018 Three people are dead after a pair of suicide car bombings in Somalia's capital, police said Friday. The first explosion occurred at an army checkpoint on the airport road in Mogadishu, injuring one soldier, Capt. Mohamed Hussein said. The bomber apparently was heading to Mogadishu's international airport but was stopped by soldiers. The heavily fortified airport houses embassies and is a major target for al-Shabab extremists. The second car bomb detonated shortly afterward near busy Benadir junction after soldiers stopped the vehicle, firing on it as it tried to speed through a checkpoint. The three dead included a soldier, Hussein said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the two explosions. The al-Qaida-linked al- Shabab often targets high-profile areas of the capital and holds large parts of southern and central Somalia. https://www.voanews.com/a/three-killed-pair-suicide-car-bombings-somali- capital/4335415.html Somali security forces prevents two car bomb attacks in Mogadishu April 6, 2018 Somali security forces prevents two car bomb attacks in Mogadishu. [Photo: Twitter]Mogadishu-(Puntland Mirror) Somali security forces in Mogadishu have prevented two suicide car bombs on Friday, army officer said. A Somali Security officer, who requested anonymity, told Puntland Mirror that the forces stopped a car bomb seemingly heading to Mogadishu International airport, killing a suicide bomber. A second car bomb exploded at security checkpoint in Mogadishu when the forces stopped it, killing at least two suspected to be Al-Shabab fighters, according to the officer. At least three security soldiers were wounded in the blasts, the officer added. No group has claimed the responsibility, but Al-Shabab militant group often carry out blasts in the capital, Mogadishu. The Friday’s attacks happened few hours after Mogadishu hosted its first marathon race since 1991. http://puntlandmirror.net/somali-security-forces-prevents-two-car-bomb-attacks-mogadishu/ http://theinsider.ug/index.php/2018/04/06/besigye-condemns-parliament-over-soldiers-killed- in-somalia/ Somalia: opposing government troops fighting leads to displacement April 6, 2018 - Mogadishu-KNN- A fighting between government soldiers erupted in Mogadishu Thursday afternoon, Radio Kulmiye reports. The warning government troops organised as clan based trying to control a village near the ministry of defence. The village called 77 is former military camp, in which civilians inhabited for long years ago. At least five people dead and 10 others wounded, according to witnesses. But, most of the residents with children and elders displaced to other districts of Banadir region. There is no intervention from the government and Banadir regional administration. http://radiokulmiye.net/2018/04/06/somalia-opposing-government-troops-fighting-leads-to- displacement/ AMISOM WIll Take Over Parliament Security Only On Request By Somalia, Madeira Says On Apr 6, 2018 The African Union Special Representative to Somalia Amb. Francesco Gaetano Madeira has reversed an earlier declaration by Amisom Commander Paul Lokech that it had taken over Parliaments’s security after the Wednesday standoff. “The African Union Commission and AMisom respect the sovereignty of the people of Somalia and recognize their rights and have full confidence in the capacity of its Leadership to address the challenges besetting their country including the current political challenges that saw the Lower house of the parliament being split in two” Madeira said. “In this context, AMISOM has no mandate to impose on the Somali people and, indeed, on the Parliament, the way they should conduct their business. AMISOM will, therefore, not take control of the House of the People unless the competent Somali authorities request it to do so in full respect and within the parameters of AMISOM mandate” he stated. “AU and AMISOM recognize and respect the right of the Somali Federal Parliament to determine when, where and how they conduct their business. It is therefore not the responsibility of AMISOM to determine where and how they should handle their parliamentary activities” Madeira statement said. AU says it will continue to back the Federal institituions until Somalia is ready to tale over its security. AU calls for rival politicians to resolve the current political stalemate. “The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is deeply concerned with the security implications of Wednesday’s developments in Parliament. I appeal to the Members of Parliament, legitimate representatives of the people of Somalia, to continue to exercise restraint as they strive to resolve the differences that oppose them”. Somalia has been thrown in to a one month old political squabble pitting the Speaker of the Lower House Mohamed Osman Jawari and the Executive. http://radiodalsan.com/en/amisom-will-take-over-parliament-security-only-on-request-by- somalia-madeira-says/ U.S. conducts air strike in Somalia, says three militants killed MOGADISHU (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Friday it had killed three militants after launching an air strike in Somalia against al Shabaab, a militant Islamist group allied with al Qaeda. The military’s Africa Command (Africom) said they carried out the strike on April 5 near the town of Jilib, about 230 miles (370 km) southwest of Mogadishu. “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Forces conducted an air strike against Al-Shabaab militants near Jilib ... killing three terrorists and destroying one vehicle with a mounted heavy machine gun,” it said in a statement. Washington has expanded its operations in the Horn of Africa country after President Donald Trump eased combat rules last year. Since withdrawing from the capital Mogadishu in 2011, al Shabaab lost control of most of Somalia’s cities and towns. But they retain a strong presence in regions outside the capital. On Friday, one soldier was killed by a militant who attacked a checkpoint in Mogadishu. A car bomb in the same place injured two other soldiers. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack. https://in.reuters.com/article/somalia-security-usa/u-s-conducts-air-strike-in-somalia-says- three-militants-killed-idINKCN1HD1WC?rpc=401& US military flights still suspended in Djibouti, but operations in Africa continue U.S. Marines fast-rope from a CH-53E Super Stallion during helicopter rope suspension technique training near Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Feb. 7, 2017. U.S. air operations in Djibouti remain grounded Friday after two Marine Corps aircraft were involved in crashes earlier this week. By JOHN VANDIVER | STARS AND STRIPES Published: April 6, 2018 STUTTGART, Germany — U.S. air operations in Djibouti remain suspended Friday after two Marine Corps aircraft were involved in crashes earlier this week, but the pause hasn’t put a stop to air strikes in neighboring Somalia, U.S. Africa Command said. “We are still assessing the impacts of this operational pause,” said Maj. Karl Wiest, an AFRICOM spokesman.