Three soldiers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Armed Forces and an officer from the Bahrain Defense Force were killed in a “terrorist attack” at a military base in Somalia’s capital, the UAE’s defense ministry has confirmed.
The yesterday’s attack occurred in the capital Mogadishu that saw three Emirati soldiers and a Bahraini officer dead.
A fifth fatality was presumed to be a Somali officer.
The attack took place at the General Gordon military base in Mogadishu yesterday night.
UAE personnel had been training soldiers from the Somali Armed Forces as part of an agreement between the UAE and Somalia, the ministry said.
Two others were injured during the attack.
The gunman was a newly trained Somali soldier.
UAE has launched a joint probe with Somalia.
In a post on X, the UAE Ministry of Defense said the victims were part of a mission to train Somali Armed Forces, under a program which falls within a military cooperation agreement between UAE and Somalia, the statement said.
The ministry did not give other details about the attack but said the UAE “continues to coordinate and cooperate with the Somali government in investigating” the act.
The gunman, a suspected Al shabaab affiliate was also shot dead at the Gordon military base managed by the UAE.
Al Shabab, linked to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack via a statement on its Radio al Andalus and said its fighters had killed 17 soldiers.
Two nurses and a doctor at the Erdogan Hospital in Mogadishu, who asked not to be named, said about 10 injured Somali soldiers had also been brought to the hospital. Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in a statement on state media offered his condolences to the UAE following the incident.
Al Shabab has waged an insurgency against the Somali government since 2006 to try to establish its own rule.
While condoling with the families of the deceased, Somalia president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Sheikh labeled the attack a “heinous terrorist operation.”
He commended the courage and sacrifice of the fallen soldiers and their contribution to Somalia’s fight against terrorism and the rebuilding of its military.
“We affirm our thanks and gratitude to the Emirati people, their government, and their wise leadership for their permanent support for the Republic of Somalia and their contribution to its stability and security.” Mohamud said.
Mohamud labeled the attack a “heinous terrorist operation.”