Somali forces foils suicide attack on headquarters

MOGADISHU,Somalia - Somali government forces said Wednesday they managed to thwart a suicide attack on headquarters of the country's armed forces, the state radio reported.

Army guards at the gate of the Filla Baidoa military headquarters in Mogadishu stopped a suicide bomber dressed in Somali military uniform from entering the base, prompting the attacker to detonate the explosives, state-run Radio Mogadishu said.

National Army Chief Abdelkarim Yusuf Adan said the army guards stopped the attacker from getting into the base, adding that eight soldiers were slightly injured by the explosion.

Other reports said some of the wounded soldiers died of their injuries at hospital, but the news has not yet been verified.

The Somali government said that militant group of Al-Shabaab was  behind the attack, but the group, which had been carrying out similar attacks, made no comment on the latest assault.

The group had been waging low-level attacks against Somali government forces and African Union (AU) peacekeepers in Mogadishu since their withdrawal from the capital in August.

A number of people, mostly civilians, have either been killed or wounded in separate roadside bomb and grenade attacks in Mogadishu this week.

Al-Shabaab militants have vowed to carry out guerilla attacks following their retreat from the capital after government forces and AU peacekeepers launched major offensives there.