MOGADISHU, Somalia – The number of people killed by a car bomb blast that exploded outside the Somali capital, Mogadishu on Saturday morning has jumped to at least 6.
The al Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for Saturday’s blast, which struck a police checkpoint in Elasha Biyaha area, located about 17 kilometers west of the capital.
In a statement, police said the dead included 4 soldiers and 2 civilians while 9 others were wounded – five soldiers and four civilians.
The car bomb was heading to Mogadishu but police said the soldiers at the Elasha Biyaha checkpoint fired on it and exploded in the area.
Al-Shabaab has been under pressure since August when President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud began an offensive, supported by the United States and allied local militias, against them, and sought to dismantle their financial network.
Somalia is facing the threat of Al-Shabaab and is now moving to degrade the militant in ongoing military operation, which was launched in August last year after a hotel attack.
