Four African Union soldiers were killed and five wounded in an attack on their convoy in northern Mogadishu yesterday, as ambushes increase in the war-wracked seaside city.
A child playing near the targeted Ugandan convoy was also killed in the roadside bomb blast, which was a signal of the Ethiopia-backed government's increasing difficulty in restoring security.
"Four of our soldiers were killed and five wounded by the blast which took place at Aruba hotel area while on a duty mission," spokesman for the AU troops captain Paddy Ankunda said.
A senior Somali officer said Ugandan troops stationed at the nearby Mogadishu port helped to recover the dead and wounded from the scene.
"The Somali government is investigating the matter," he said.
A child was also killed in the attack, and another wounded, witnesses said. The children had been playing soccer nearby.
Several people at the scene were immediately arrested, a Somali security officer said, adding that the person who detonated the bomb would not have been able to escape very far.
"This is a homemade device with a wire attached from the bottom which was pulled by somebody in order to trigger the explosion," he said.
Meanwhile, the interim Somali government accused al-Qaeda of involvement in the attack.
"The attack against the Ugandan troops has all the hallmarks of al-Qaeda," said Hussein Mohamud Mohamed, the Somali presidential spokesman.
"The Somali government is treating the matter as a terrorist attack," he said.
"We are sending our deep condolences to the people and government of Uganda and primarily to the families of the deceased," he added.
Some 1,500 Ugandan peacekeepers are in Somalia as part of a planned 8,000 strong force that the African Union is struggling to assemble.
A total of five Ugandan peacekeepers have now been killed since they deployed in Somalia on March 6.
A first Ugandan soldier was killed on April 1 by artillery fire near Mogadishu's presidential palace.
Attacks on civilian targets have increased since Ethiopian-Somali troops ousted an Islamist movement from south and central Somalia at the start of the year.
The capital Mogadishu has seen clashes between Ethiopian-Somali forces and Islamist-led insurgents, killing hundreds of civilians in the past months and forcing tens of thousands to flee.
Heavy fighting abated there after an Ethiopian offensive at the end of last month, but sporadic attacks are on the increase.
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