U.N. condemns Somali attacks

MOGADISHU, Somalia, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Attacks on African Union peacekeepers in the Somali capital are an insult to the Somali people and the religion of Islam, the United Nations said.

The militant group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for an attack on the airport Thursday in Mogadishu. The attack killed nine people including two members of the AU Mission in Somalia.

A joint statement from AMISOM and the U.N. Political Office for Somalia condemned the attack as a "heinous act of terrorism," the U.N. news agency quoted the statement as saying.

Al-Shabaab has been waging an offensive to coincide with Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting that ends this week. In the past two weeks more than 230 people were killed, including several government lawmakers.

The militia declared its alliance with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network Feb. 1. It said the attack Thursday was part of a holy war against Somalia's Western-backed government, which it considers an "enemy of Islam."

Augustine Mahiga, the U.N. special envoy to Somalia, called on all Somalis to embrace peace and bring stability to their country.

The Somali government controls only a small portion of the country. Al-Shabaab killed several lawmakers in an attack on a hotel in Mogadishu in August.