MOGADISHU: A witness says she saw 11 bodies after two car bombs blew up at the main base of African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu.

The witness, who did not want to be named for fear of retribution, counted 11 corpses at the scene. It was unclear if they included the remains of the suicide bombers.

The blasts Thursday blew out nearby windows and shrouded the sky in black smoke. The AU said peacekeepers were wounded, but did not elaborate. The African Medical and Research Foundation said the U.N. has asked for help evacuating 15 "critically injured" people.

An Islamist insurgent group claimed responsibility for the attack at Mogadishu's airport and said the targets were senior peacekeeping officials and Somali government officials who were meeting there.