Al-Shabaab Militants Attack US Military Base

The Al-Shabaab militia group claimed responsibility for an attack on a United States military base in Somalia on Monday.

Al-Shabaab militants struck the US base located in Baledogle, about 110 kilometers northwest of the capital Mogadishu, with explosives before gunmen opened fire, AFP reported. No casualties were reported following the attack.

US forces use the base to launch drone operations against Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda-linked group which controls large sections of the Horn of Africa nation.

"Two heavy explosions occurred, the first one bigger than the other. There was also a heavy exchange of gunfire after the blasts but we don't know about the details," Mohamed Adan, a Somali elder close to the scene of the attack, told AFP.

On Monday, the European Union also confirmed a separate car bomb attack against a convoy of Italian advisers training the Somali National Army.

"No EUTM-S soldiers were injured in the explosion. Two vehicles sustained damage," a statement from the EU Training Mission in Somalia said.

Italy's Defense ministry said no soldier was hurt in the attack that happened along the Industrial Road in Mogadishu. "For the instant, there have been no consequences for Italian soldiers."