A car bomb in a busy street in the center of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu killed at least 20 people on Saturday and injured several others, police said.
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – A car bomb in a busy street in the center of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu killed at least 20 people on Saturday and injured several others, police said.
The blast, in the city’s K5 Junction which is lined with government offices, hotels, and restaurants, destroyed several buildings and set dozens of vehicles on fire.
“We know that at least 20 civilians are dead while dozens of others are wounded,” said Abdullahi Nur, a police officer who was in the area.
“The death toll will surely rise. We are still busy transporting casualties,” he said, adding that there were bodies under the rubble.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, although the Islamist al Shabaab group has carried out regular attacks
The al Qaeda-allied group is waging an insurgency to topple the weak U. N.-backed government and its African Union allies and impose its own strict interpretation of Islam.
They frequently launch gun, grenade and bomb attacks in Mogadishu and other regions controlled by the federal government.
But in recent years, the militants have lost most territory under their control to African Union peacekeepers and government troops.
