A 15-year old girl was killed and four other family members were wounded after al-Shabab militants fired mortars on the southwestern town of Baidoa early Saturday morning, witnesses said.
The militant group fired 11 rounds of mortars on several targets in the town including the airport and residential areas according to witnesses.
One of the mortars landed on a home killing the girl and wounding her mother, two siblings and a sister in-law. Baidoa is 245 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu.
The father of the girl, Sheikh Ibrahim Sheikh Mohamed told VOA Somali said his daughter was in grade nine in high school. He said the youngest victim, his son, is seven years old. The attack occurred at around 3:30 am when the family was sleep, Mohamed said.
Deputy Director of Baidoa hospital Ahmed Ibrahim Ali said he expects the wounded to recover.
Somali MP Sidow Aden Abadir who visited the victims condemned the militant group for the shelling.
“Innocent victims were hurt in the hand of evil; may Allah bless the dead and heal the injured,” he said.
It’s the second heaviest bombardment on the town by al-Shabab in just over a month. In July two children were killed and 19 others were wounded after heavy mortar attack by al-Shabab.
