10 killed in Somalia clash, say officials

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A team of suicide bombers and gunmen disguised as soldiers assaulted an African Union base in the Somalian capital on Saturday, sparking a two-hour gunfight that left at least 10 people dead, security officials said. The al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group that claimed the attack said one of the bombers was Somalian American.

The attack underscored the militants' ability to carry out complex and deadly operations even after AU troops forced them from most of Mogadishu and a famine in their strongholds weakened their forces. Earlier this month, Kenya sent troops into Somalia after a string of cross-border attacks and kidnappings blamed on Somalian gunmen and militants battling Somalia's weak, U.N.-backed government.

During Saturday's attack, the two suicide bombers blew themselves up near the entrance to the compound, then more attackers jumped over the walls, a Nairobi-based security official said. He asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

The true extent of casualties from the assault was unclear, although a Somalian soldier, Col. Nor Abdi, said at least 10 people were killed.

"They were dressed in Somali military uniform and disguised as ordinary soldiers," Abdi said. "Then they tried to enter the base and [AU] soldiers fired at them. Then heavy gunfire started and all of them were killed. I don't know how many they were but they were more than 10 men."

In a claim posted on Somalimemo.net, a website they frequently use, al-Shabab militants said one of the bombers was a Somalian American and claimed he was the second Somalian American involved in a suicide attack in Mogadishu within five months. They did not name the youth or offer further details, and the claim could not immediately be independently verified.

U.S. authorities say that about 20 American citizens, most of Somalian descent, have traveled to Somalia to fight with the al-Shabab insurgents. The best known among them is Omar Hammami from Alabama, known as Abu Mansur al-Amriki, who posts Internet videos in which he raps about the conflict.

Al-Shabab claimed to have killed dozens of AU soldiers and government troops in Saturday's assault, but the group habitually exaggerates the number of people it kills, and an AU statement did not mention casualty figures.

Meanwhile, the chief of Kenya's armed forces, Gen. Julius Karangi, told reporters that the country had no deadline for leaving Somalia. "When the Kenya government and the people of this country feel that they are safe enough from the al-Shabab menace, we shall pull back," Karangi said. "Key success factors or indicators will be in the form of a highly degraded al-Shabab capacity."