DAR AL ISLAM - SOMALIA: SOMALIAN JIHADISTS SHOOT DOWN BELARUS AIRLINER, 11 DEAD

Islamist Fighters Downed Belarus Plane in Somalia

A missile fired by Islamist fighters was responsible for the plane crash that left 11 people dead in Somalia on Friday, the Reuters news agency quoted Belarus officials as saying on Sunday.

“The plane was shot down,” Transport Ministry spokeswoman Kseniya Perestoronina said in Minsk, adding that the large Ilyushin plane, in Somalia to assist struggling African Union peacekeepers, was hit at a height of 500 feet.

A Somali radio and an Islamist website also said a missile hit the Russian-made Ilyushin – used by a Belarussian firm – just after takeoff from Mogadishu.

But Somali Interior Minister Mohamed Mahamud Guled said it was more likely an accident downed the plane and confirmed that an investigation has begun.

The crash came after three days of the worst violence since the January start of a campaign that drove out the six-month regime of militant Islamists in Mogadishu.

Fighters believed to be a mixture of Islamists and disgruntled clan militia have been striking daily against government forces, Ethiopian troops and a contingent of 1,200 Ugandan soldiers in the vanguard of the African Union forcee.

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Pertinent Links:

1) Islamist Fighters Downed Belarus Plane in Somalia