MOGADISHU: A suicide bomber wearing army uniform killed at least nine soldiers at a camp in Somalia's capital on Monday, authorities said, and a government official was killed by a bomb planted in his car.

Al Qaeda-linked insurgent group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing at the military training camp on the outskirts of Mogadishu.

"An armed suicide bomber with an explosive jacket entered the camp and blew up himself after firing at the soldiers," police officer Nur Hussein said.

A military colonel, asking not to be named, told Reuters: "The suicide bomber blew himself up minutes after the training. At least nine soldiers died and a dozen others were injured.

"Some of the injured ones are in serious condition. It is not easy to prevent a militant in military uniform who wants to kill himself."

In another part of the city, a car bomb killed a civil servant, said a spokesman for Mogadishu's mayor, Abdifatah Omar Halane.

On Sunday, an al Shabaab car bomb outside a Mogadishu army base killed at least 15 people.

The group has stepped up its attacks to challenge the new government after President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed gave a speech in military uniform declaring "war" on the insurgency.

Somalia has been riven by civil war since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew authoritarian leader Siad Barre and then turned on each other.

In many parts of the country, the conflict has exacerbated the effects of a severe regional drought. The U.N. says more than half the population of 12 million will need aid by July.</s>A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a Mogadishu army camp Monday, killing at least three soldiers a day after the army chief escaped an attack on his convoy, military sources said.

"The suicide bomber was stopped at the main entrance and he blew himself up. Three soldiers died and several others were wounded," said soldier Abdukadir Farah, who was inside the camp at the time of the attack.

Farah said there had been a meeting of military officials underway at the camp.

But it was not clear if army chief Ahmed Mohamed Jimale was among them, he said.

Military official Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Abdirahman told AFP the attacker had been "disguised as a member of the military" to gain access to the training camp.

The attack was claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab extremist group, which said that "tens" of people had been killed.

The training camp in the south of the capital is one of the largest in the country.

On Sunday, a suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into a convoy carrying Jimale, who was named to the post last week by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmajo.

The Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the military chief had "narrowly escaped" the blast. A senior army official separately said the attack left at least 10 people dead.

Farmajo, who took office in February, also named new police and intelligence chiefs in a speech Thursday in which he declared a fresh war against Al-Shabaab militants.

"I am announcing a state of war in the country and call on the public to stand with the national army to help fight terrorists," he said.

"We are very sorry for those kids who have been misled, and we are offering the Shabaab fighters an ultimatum of 60 days to surrender otherwise they will face the consequences," he said.

While Shabaab have lost large swathes of territory and were forced out of Mogadishu by African Union troops in 2011, they continue to strike in the capital and countryside.

There has been an uptick in attacks over the past week, with a car bomb in Mogadishu that left seven people dead Wednesday, a landmine that killed 19 on Thursday and a mortar strike which left three dead on Friday.

Shortly after Farmajo's election, the Shabaab threatened to wage "vicious war" against his new administration.

Somalia's fragile central government is still propped up by the international community and a 22,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force after nearly three decades of civil war and anarchy.

During his inauguration, Farmajo warned there would be no quick fixes for the troubled country -- also on the brink of famine.

"Your problems were created during 20 years of conflict and droughts. A solution will need more than another 20 years," he said.</s>A suicide bomber detonated his vest inside a military training camp in Mogadishu today, a day after an attack on the army chief's convoy, a military official said.

"A suicide bomber disguised as a member of the military managed to enter inside the training camp... several soldiers were killed and others wounded but we have not established the exact number so far," Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Abdirahman told AFP.

The training camp in the south of the capital is one of the largest in the country.

Yesterday, a suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into a convoy carrying army chief Ahmed Mohamed Jimale who was named to the post last week by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.

The new leader, also known as Farmajo, last week declared a fresh war against Al-Shabaab militants.

The Al-Qaeda-linked extremists claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the military chief had "narrowly escaped" the blast which left at least 10 people dead.

While Shabaab have lost large swathes of territory and were forced out of Mogadishu by African Union troops in 2011, they continue to strike in the capital and countryside.

There has been an uptick in attacks over the past week, with a car bomb in Mogadishu that left seven people dead Wednesday, a landmine that killed 19 on Thursday and a mortar strike which left three dead on Friday.

The president, who took office in February, on Thursday announced "a state of war in the country" and gave Shabaab fighters 60 days to surrender or "face the consequences".</s>A suicide bomber detonated his vest inside a military training camp in Mogadishu Monday, a day after an attack on the army chief’s convoy, a military official said. “A suicide bomber disguised as a member of the military managed to enter inside the training camp… several soldiers were killed and others wounded but we have not established the exact number so far,” Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Abdirahman told AFP. The training camp in the south of the capital is one of the largest in the country.

On Sunday, a suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into a convoy carrying army chief Ahmed Mohamed Jimale who was named to the post last week by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed. The new leader, also known as Farmajo, last week declared a fresh war against Al-Shabaab militants. The Al-Qaeda-linked extremists claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the military chief had “narrowly escaped” the blast which left at least 10 people dead.

While Shabaab have lost large swathes of territory and were forced out of Mogadishu by African Union troops in 2011, they continue to strike in the capital and countryside. There has been an uptick in attacks over the past week, with a car bomb in Mogadishu that left seven people dead Wednesday, a landmine that killed 19 on Thursday and a mortar strike which left three dead on Friday. The president, who took office in February, on Thursday announced “a state of war in the country” and gave Shabaab fighters 60 days to surrender or “face the consequences”.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now</s>MOGADISHU - A suicide bomber wearing army uniform killed at least nine soldiers at a camp in Somalia's capital on Monday, authorities said, and a government official was killed by a bomb planted in his car.

Al Qaeda-linked insurgent group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing at the military training camp on the outskirts of Mogadishu.

"An armed suicide bomber with an explosive jacket entered the camp and blew up himself after firing at the soldiers," police officer Nur Hussein said.

A military colonel, asking not to be named, told Reuters: "The suicide bomber blew himself up minutes after the training. At least nine soldiers died and a dozen others were injured. "Some of the injured ones are in serious condition. It is not easy to prevent a militant in military uniform who wants to kill himself."

In another part of the city, a car bomb killed a civil servant, said a spokesman for Mogadishu's mayor, Abdifatah Omar Halane.

On Sunday, an al Shabaab car bomb outside a Mogadishu army base killed at least 15 people.

The group has stepped up its attacks to challenge the new government after President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed gave a speech in military uniform declaring "war" on the insurgency.

Somalia has been riven by civil war since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew authoritarian leader Siad Barre and then turned on each other.

In many parts of the country, the conflict has exacerbated the effects of a severe regional drought. The UN says more than half the population of 12 million will need aid by July.</s>Here is a look at the al Shabaab group.

- The toppling by warlords of military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 plunged the Horn of Africa nation into anarchy, allowing al Shabaab, which means "Youth" or "Boys" in Arabic, to seize control of large areas of south and central Somalia.

- Al Shabaab's militia was part of Somalia's Islamic Courts Union movement that pushed U.S.-backed warlords out of the capital Mogadishu in June 2006 and ruled for six months before Somali and Ethiopian forces ousted the movement.

- Five years on, in August 2011, al Shabaab began pulling its fighters out of Mogadishu. In September 2012, African peacekeepers pushed the group out of the port of Kismayu.

- Although the rebels have still struck back repeatedly with bombs and attacks, their retreat from Mogadishu and Kismayu signalled they could not defeat militarily a government backed by foreign firepower. Ethiopian, Kenyan and African peacekeeping (AMISOM) troops have advanced and taken rebel strongholds.

- Al Qaeda said in early 2012 that al Shabaab had joined its ranks and the group has resorted to guerrilla-style hit-and-run attacks against AMISOM troops. At least 3,000 African peacekeepers have been killed in Somalia since 2007, the United Nations says.

- A suicide bomber killed four government ministers and 19 others on December 3, 2009 at a graduation ceremony for medical students in Mogadishu.

- In July 2010, al Shabaab staged a bomb attack in Kampala that killed 79 people who were watching the soccer World Cup final. The strike, its first on foreign soil, was to avenge Uganda's participation in the African peacekeeping force.

- Two attacks on a Nairobi bus station and a bar killed one person and wounded more than 20 in late October 2011.

- Kenya blamed al Shabaab for grenade attacks that killed at least six people at a Nairobi bus station on March 10, 2012.

- Somali sports officials were among six people killed in April 2012 in an al Shabaab suicide bombing in Mogadishu.

- Suicide bombers hit the Mogadishu hotel where newly elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was on Sept 12, 2012, killing eight people. Mohamud was unhurt. Eight days later, suicide bombers killed at least 15 people in a restaurant.

- In April 2013, al Shabaab militants killed at least 30 people in a wave of coordinated attacks in the Somali capital.

- In July, the group claimed a car bomb attack on the Turkish mission in Mogadishu that killed three people. A Sept 7 attack on a packed restaurant killed at least 15 people.</s>A suicide bomber dressed in an army uniform infiltrated a training camp in Somalia's capital on Monday and killed at least nine soldiers, according to officials.

The bomber, posing as a military trainee, walked into the camp on the outskirts of Mogadishu and detonated explosives strapped to his waist.

Armed group al-Shabab, which has carried out frequent attacks aimed at overthrowing Somalia's internationally recognised government, claimed responsibility for the attack.

READ MORE: New army chief survives deadly Mogadishu bomb blast

Two military colonels were among those died, as well as the camp's chief trainer, Colonel Abdi Hassan told the Associated Press news agency.

A military colonel, asking not to be named, told the Reuters news agency: "Some of the injured ones are in serious condition. It is not easy to prevent a militant in military uniform who wants to kill himself."

At a hospital in Mogadishu, gravely wounded soldiers were transported to emergency rooms, with bleeding victims on stretchers awaiting treatment outside.

"He entered the camp unstopped," whispered an injured soldier with bandages wrapped around his head and leg as he spoke to his mother.

"We were sitting under a tree when he came and blew himself up among us," he said, grimacing with pain.

The soldiers and officers were resting after their daily military exercises.

In a separate incident on Monday, a government worker was killed after a bomb in his car was detonated by remote control in Mogadishu's Hamarweyne district, police said.

Al-Shabab has stepped up its campaign of bombings in Mogadishu in recent weeks; a car bomb targeting Somalia's new army chief left 15 people dead on Sunday, and a landmine killed 19 on Thursday.

The latest attacks come after President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed declared a new war against the group, naming a new military chief and other officials in an attempt to improve the worsening security situation.

Al-Shabab has denounced Mohamed, who was elected president in February, as an "apostate" and threatened to wage "vicious war" against his government.

The group was pushed out of Mogadishu by national and African Union multinational forces in 2011, but it continues to carry out deadly bombings. Targets have included hotels, military checkpoints and the presidential palace.

The conflict has exacerbated the effects of a severe regional drought in many parts of the country. The United Nations says more than half the population of 12 million will need aid by July.</s>A government official was killed by a bomb planted in his car in Somalia's capital on Monday and a second suicide bomb attack struck a military training camp, officials said.

No one claimed responsibility for the car bomb, but Islamist militant group al Shabaab said it was behind the suicide bombing at the camp in the outskirts of the capital.

"The car bomb killed a junior government worker," the spokesman for Mogadishu's mayor, Abdifatah Omar Halane, said.

An al Shabaab car bomb outside Mogadishu's army base killed at least 15 people on Sunday in a sign the group has stepped up its attacks to challenge the new government.

On Monday, an attacker wearing an army uniform walked into the military training camp and shot at soldiers before detonating his explosive vest.

"An armed suicide bomber with an explosive jacket entered the camp and blew up himself after firing at the soldiers," police officer Nur Hussein told Reuters.

There was no official word on casualties but al Shabaab said two dozen soldiers and their instructors were killed in the attack. The group usually gives a high death toll for its attacks which is usually not easily verifiable.

A Reuters witness saw an ambulance and a military truck carrying uniformed victims from the scene.</s>Somali military officials say a suicide bomber has attacked a military training camp on the outskirts of Mogadishu, the capital, killing several soldiers and wounding others.

Authorities say the bomber, disguised in a military uniform, walked into the training camp Monday and detonated his explosives.

The attack came a day after the new Somali army chief, General Ahmed Mohamed Jimale Irfid, survived a suicide car bomb attack that killed at least 15 people near his convoy in Mogadishu.

The blast occurred minutes after new Defense Minister Abdirashid Abdullahi Mohamed and former Army Chief General Mohamed Aden passed through the same road, security sources have confirmed to VOA.

The new Somali army chief had just attended a ceremony at the Defense Ministry where he took over command from General Aden.

Most of the victims of the blast were said to be civilians who were passengers in two minibuses.

The al-Shabaab militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.</s>MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A suicide bomber blew himself up at a military academy in the western part of Somalia’s capital, killing at least five soldiers, said a military officer.

Two military colonels were among those died as well as the camp’s chief trainer, said Col. Abdi Hassan.

The bomber dressed in a military uniform walked into the Somali military training camp on Monday morning and detonated explosives strapped to his waist near soldiers and officers, said Hassan.

The bomber, posing as a military trainee, had crossed the gate checkpoint and targeted soldiers and officers resting under a tree after their daily military exercises, he said.

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

Photos show debris and pieces of military uniforms scattered across the ground.

At a hospital in Mogadishu, gravely wounded soldiers were transported into emergency rooms, with bleeding victims on stretchers awaiting treatment outside.

“He entered the camp unstopped,” whispered, an injured soldier with bandages wrapped on his head and leg as he spoke to his anxious mother. “We were sitting under a tree when he came and blew himself up among us,” he said, grimacing with pain.

In a separate incident Monday, a government worker was killed after a bomb in his car was detonated by remote control in Mogadishu’s Hamarweyne district, police say.

Abdikadir Osman, an officer with the education minister immediately died before medics took to a hospital, said Abdiqadir Mohamed, the district commissioner.

Al-Shabab, which is allied to al-Qaida, has stepped up its campaign of bombings in Mogadishu in recent weeks. New President Mohmed Abdullahi Mohamed has named a new military chief and other officials in an attempt to improve the worsening security situation.

The Somali-American president gave al-Shabab members a 60-day amnesty period to surrender and join the government side.

Al-Shabab has denounced the new president as an “apostate” and warned Somalis against supporting him. The rebels have been pushed out of the capital and other major urban areas in Somalia by national and African Union multinational forces, but they continue to carry out deadly bombings and attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere. Targets have included hotels, military checkpoints and the presidential palace.

The Trump administration approved greater U.S. military authority to pursue al-Shabab, including more aggressive airstrikes as parts of southern Somalia will be considered areas of active hostilities.
A suicide bomber attacks a military training camp in Mogadishu, killing at least nine soldiers. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.