Mogadishu A car bomb exploded near the headquarters of Somalia’s parliament in the capital Mogadishu, killing at least four people along with the driver and injuring several others.
The Associated Press (AP) quoted senior police officer Capt. Mohamed Hussein as saying on Sunday that the car bomb was detonated at a checkpoint after soldiers intercepted and stopped a suspicious vehicle. Those dead included two soldiers, he said, while many of the nearly 10 people wounded are rickshaw drivers.
Extremist group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility, saying it killed 13 presidential guards. However, the group often exaggerates its claims of the number of casualties.
A few hours earlier, another car bomb in the outskirts of Mogadishu killed one person plus the driver, police said, adding that the explosion occurred after soldiers arrived at the scene to inspect the suspicious car which had become stuck on a sandy road in the Sinka Dheer area.
The car bombings come three days after at least 14 people were killed and 10 others wounded in a car bomb blast near the Weheliye hotel on the busy Makkah Al-Mukarramah road in Mogadishu.
Source: International Islamic News Agency