Somali Government - African Troops Face Blast As They Take Somali Port Reuters

By Abdi Sheikh

MOGADISHU Tue Oct 2, 2012 8:22am EDT

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - African Union troops and also tanks typed in the first kind al Shabaab stronghold of Kismayu on Tuesday, nevertheless a fun time advertised with the al Qaeda-linked militants who may have fled that Somali port signaled their particular goal to help attack back.

The government said that surge prompted zero casualties, even so the incident aimed that will al Shabaab's capacity for you to struck back using guerrilla strikes as well as bombings with both equally Kismayu as well as neighboring Kenya, in whose troops led the infiltration within the town.

Residents including a administration spokesman detailed a deafening fun time targeted at Somali troopers patrolling Kismayu's dusty streets, nevertheless the rebels claimed some people possessed detonated a bomb with a building construction Somali troops, "killing many".

"The bomb was grown inside a centre administration workplace building," al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab said, warning of a lot more attacks. "This is just a strong advantages into the forthcoming explosions."

The African Union makes entered Kismayu for any beginer on Tuesday once introducing an offensive from the port with Friday, driving the rebels to be able to flee. Hundreds with Somali government soldiers as well as allied militia mma fighters used in the city's winding streets with Monday.

Mohamud Farah, your spokesman for Somali federal government makes within the lower Juba region, said the actual militants experienced cast a new grenade from Somali troops, although there are simply no casualties.

"A fretting hand grenade had been hurled at certainly one of your army cars transferring in-front with the district headquarter building. No casualties," he advised Reuters through Kismayu.

"The grenade overlooked the actual car. We include seized among the list of about three al Shabaab suspects who seem to were guiding the particular grenade attack."

Although this achievements versus al Shabaab usually are good by way of Somalia's federal government as well as their worldwide backers, you can find fears that even Kismayu's capture might not offer a new knock-out knock back to this combat-hardened rebels.

The Islamist militant group, which usually merged with al Qaeda within February, possesses accomplished a campaign associated with suicide bombings the way it withdrew on the budget last year under military pressure.

Suspected al Shabaab militants used a side grenade at the Kenyan criminal arrest article about Monday inside the northern town of Garissa near to the boundary having Somalia, police said, each day after a couple of criminal court officers were shot dead in the town.

Kenyan professionals blame the rebels for just a a line assaults from the far east African region given it delivered its troops in to Somalia last October.

Residents within Kismayu chatted of two grenade blasts, subsequently a different huge explosion.

"First not one but two successive grenades were hurled at the Somali troops patrolling the middle town streets, your aids opened fire after which it many of us heard a even larger surge that shook the total urban center within the path in the district business office building," some sort of resident, Halima Farah, informed Reuters.

Residents claimed your African Union soldiers terminated from the air conditioning to distribute those who have obtained to look at your tanks coming in the area pertaining to fearfulness that militants would support grenade attacks.

"AU tanks along with Somali military cars have obtained situations within Kismayu, persons include made welcome us," General Ismail Sahardiid, your commander regarding Somali federal government forces, informed Reuters.

(Writing by simply James Macharia; Editing by way of Giles Elgood)