Mogadishu explosion: Car bomb leaves 'at least six' dead and 20 wounded in Somali capital

Most victims are civilians

Samuel Osborne
Sunday 30 July 2017 10:03 BST
Comments
Car bomb in Mogadishu, Somalia leaves several dead and wounded

Six people have been killed and at least 20 others wounded in a car bomb blast near a police station in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, police said.

The blast near Waberi police station along the busy Maka al Mukarramah road may have been a suicide bomber, Captain Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press.

The blast occurred amid a traffic jam while soldiers were searching cars at a nearby intersection.

A Reuters reporter at the scene of the blast counted four bodies lying on the ground. Photographs taken by Reuters showed three destroyed cars on the road, with two still burning.

Most of the victims were civilians. The exact target of the blast remains unclear.

Somalia's Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire said no such blast had occurred in the capital for a month.

At the scene of the blast, rescue workers and civilians carried bloodied bodies and injured victims to hospitals.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabaab often carries out deadly bombings in Mogadishu against high-profile targets, such as hotels and checkpoints.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in