ALBAWABA - According to a report by the Ministry of Defence of the United Arab Emirates, at least five people have been reportedly killed in an apparent "terrorist" attack, three of whom were UAE soldiers and one was a Bahraini officer.
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 that falls within a military cooperation agreement between UAE and Somalia, the statement said.
Without providing extensive details, however, said that "the UAE continues to coordinate and cooperate with the Somali government in investigating the attack".
Reuters reported, citing a Somali officer and hospital staff, that the gunman was shot dead at the Gordon military base, which is managed by the United Arab Emirates.
"The soldier opened fire on the UAE trainers and Somali military officials when they started praying. We understand the soldier had defected from Al-Shabab before he was recruited as a soldier by Somalia and UAE," the Somali officer told Reuters.
The injuries were taken to the Erdogan Hospital in Mogadishu. A doctor and two nurses said that about 10 injuries were brought to the hospital for treatment, and are believed to be Somali soldiers.
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in a statement on state media offered his condolences to the UAE following the attack.
