Somalia mortar attack leaves several dead

At least three civilians have been killed and five wounded after a barrage of mortars targeted the headquarters of UN and African Union peacekeeping mission forces in the Somali capital Mogadishu, a police official said.

Abdi Yusuf, a police officer in Mogadishu's Dharkinley neighborhood, told Anadolu Agency over the phone that several mortar shells landed in a residential area near Somali Adan Adde International Airport in Mogadishu on Thursday. 

Local media reported that a father and an infant were among the victims of the attack, claimed by Al Shabab militant group.

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Violence in Somalia

The targeted UN compound, known as Camp Halane, houses several Western diplomatic missions including those of Britain and the United States.

Sources in the compound who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed that several mortar shells also landed in and around the airport where the UN compound is also located.

Somali leaders are currently meeting in the same compound to end a months-long political and election stalemate.

This is the second time the UN compound has been targeted in less than a week, following a March 19 attack with no reported casualties.

Al Shabab has carried out numerous attacks in Somalia over the years, including a 2017 truck bomb blast in Mogadishu which killed at least 300 people.

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