Al-Shabaab kills 4 African Union peacekeepers in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia

Twin blasts targeted Burundian soldiers serving under the African Union peacekeeping mission (AMISOM) in southern Somalia on Saturday, a security official said.

The official, who spoke to Anadolu Agency over the phone on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to media, said Burundian peacekeepers hit two improvised explosive devices while patrolling on foot between the vicinity of Buurane and Mahaday towns in the Middle Shabelle region.

Al-Shabaab, a Somali-based al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the attack on the African Union peacekeepers, saying it had killed four Burundian soldiers in the attack.

Mahaday, which houses an AMISOM base, is an agricultural town located 118 kilometers (73 miles) north of the Somali capital Mogadishu.

The official said al-Shabaab terrorists flooded villages in the region on purpose to stop AMISOM and the Somali national army from traveling.

"By the way, al-Shabaab have deliberately flooded villages between Balcad and Jowhar after they broke the water reserves of Xawaadleey vicinity which was built during the 1970s to assist the Shabelle regions during the dry season. They are doing this because they fear military operations against their hideous," he said.

Earlier on Saturday, a bomb blast in the town of Jowhar killed one civilian and wounded five others, including two regional lawmakers.

Al-Shabaab also claimed responsibility for this attack and said they targeted Hirshabelle state lawmakers, wounding deputies and regional ministers.