Al-Shabaab Ambush On Au Convoy Kills 12 İn Somalia

An attack on an African Union (AU) convoy in Somalia on Sunday has left 12 peace keeping soldiers dead and several injured.

Uganda's military confirmed this morning that 12 of its troops were killed in an ambush by extremist group al-Shabaab while seven others were injured.

The convoy was part of a joint patrol with Somali forces in Somalia's Bulamareer district in Lower Shabelle region about 140 km southwest of Mogadishu, Shabelle News reported, adding that there was no information on any Somali casualties.

Shabelle reported further that al-Shabaab said it had killed 39 soldiers, but noted that the group "frequently inflates death tolls from attacks carried out by its fighters".

The attack came just hours after a bomb went off in Mogadishu, killing at least five civilians. Although no group had yet claimed responsibility for the bomb, the nature of the attack fits with that of al-Shabab.