At least 11 people were killed and 10 others injured in a suicide car bombing in the Somali capital, Mogadishu’s Wadajir district on Tuesday evening, the police and witnesses said.
The police officer said a suicide bomber wrapped in an explosive vest blew himself up at a tea restaurant in Mogadishu, killing both civilians and Somali National Army (SNA) soldiers.
“A suicide bomber walked into a teashop and detonated his explosive vest, killing seven people and leaving 16 others injured,” said a police officer who declined to be identified.
Witnesses said plumes of black smoke could be seen billowing from an area between Halane military camp and General Dhegabadan military academy in the southern Wadajir district.
“The death toll could rise at any time since the blast was huge. We can give you full details later,” another police officer, who did not want to be named, told Xinhua.
There was no official comment from the government officials but witnesses said the death toll could rise.
“We heard a huge blast near the Halane compound. We don’t know the number of people who died in the attack,” Shukri Nur, a witness, said.
The militant group, al-Shabab which has been fighting to topple the internationally-backed government claimed responsibility for the latest attack.
The group claimed its fighters who were targeting government soldiers in the teas restaurant killed 11 soldiers and injured 16 others.
The al-Qaida allied terror group normally inflates casualty figures during their battle with the government’s security forces.
The latest attack comes despite intensified security operations in the recent past against al-Shabab extremists in Mogadishu and in the southern regions in an attempt to liberate al-Shabab held-towns.
The group was routed from Mogadishu in 2011 by the allied forces and has had to abandon most of its strongholds, but it still controls vast rural areas and remains the key threat to peace in Somalia.
