Mortar shells were fired at the international airport of Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, on Tuesday. Ugandan peacekeepers was not hurt in the attack, said a spokesman of Ugandan army.

The attack came after Ugandan troops landed in Mogadishu on Tuesday as the first batch of African Union peacekeepers to arrive in the city.

The six mortar shells exploded in the military section of the Mogadishu airport but did not hit positions where Ugandan troops are based, said Spokesman Paddy Ankunda.

"Yes, there were blasts at the airport but our position was not hit. If there were no such blasts we would not be here," Ankunda told Xinhua by telephone from Mogadishu.

"We are ready for such attacks. We are not scared by the blasts or attacks," he added.

Ankunda said between 370 and 400 troops have landed in Somalia as part of the 1,500-strong Ugandan peacekeeping force to be deployed under the African Union Mission to Somalia.

"We are here to undertake our mission. The airport is operating normally and even now a plane is landing," said Ankunda who is also a senior officer of the Uganda People's Defense Forces.

In addition, Ali Mahad, a resident of Mogadishu, said, "A shell fell on my neighbors house and two people were wounded."

There has been an upsurge in sporadic attacks in Somalia, particularly in the capital of Mogadishu. The government has blamed remnants of the defeated Islamic militants for the attacks.

Source: Xinhua