A Ugandan military officer serving in Somalia was killed and six other soldiers were wounded when their convoy triggered a roadside bomb, Uganda’s military reported on Monday.
The attack has been attributed to fighters from the Islamist group al Shabaab.
Uganda currently has approximately 5,000 troops deployed in Somalia as part of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) peacekeeping mission.
Major Patrick Opio Awany was killed by the explosion in the village of Ceel-Werigow, located about 70 km (43 miles) southwest of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
Ibrahim Kasule Sekitto, a spokesman for the Ugandan troops, confirmed the incident, stating that the convoy was travelling from Mogadishu to Ceeljale in the Lower Shabelle region at the time of the attack.
“This attack won’t deter us; it will instead stiffen our resolve to continue supporting peace efforts in Somalia,” Sekitto told Reuters.
Al Shabaab has been engaged in a prolonged insurgency, seeking to overthrow Somalia’s central government and impose its strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.
