|
 Police suspect al Qaeda-linked Islamist group al Shabaab of
planting the bomb, which went off in the notoriously insecure
Dayniile district where, police say, al Shabaab militants often
hide.
Al Shabaab did not immediately claim responsibility.
"The remotely controlled bomb targeted government forces. Eight
people died, including three soldiers," Major Kadar Mohamed, a
senior police officer told Reuters.
The rebels were pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011 by African Union
peacekeeping troops but over the past year al Shabaab has carried
out several large scale attacks on high profile targets, denting
gradual security improvements in Mogadishu.
"I could see several motionless people lying in the scene," Said
Fatuma Hassan, a mother of three who was near the bomb blast. "The
whole place was ruined and stained with blood."
(Reporting by Abdirahman Hussein and Abdi Sheikh
writing by Drazen
Jorgic; editing by Louise Ireland)
[© 2013 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2013 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
