Car Bomb Attack in Somalia’s Capital Kills At Least 8

Car bomb in Somali capital
Civilians look at the wrecked vehicles at the scene of an explosion in the Hamarweyne district of Mogadishu, Somalia, January 12, 2022. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – A suicide car bomb struck a convoy, including bullet proof vehicles at a road leading to Adan Adde International Airport in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu on Wednesday, killing at least eight people.

Videos circulated on social media showed plumes of smoke furled into the sky over the area where the blast took place.

Director of Amin Ambulance service Abdulkadir Abdirahman said at least eight people were killed in the bombing, the latest in a spate of attacks carried out recently by insurgents fighting to topple the Horn of Africa country’s Western backed government.

A car bomb targeted a convoy, including bullet proof cars using Avisione street, we do not know who owns the convoy. We carried eight dead people from the Scene,” Abdirahman told Reuters news agency.

In a statement on affiliated media, Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the car bomb attack, saying it had targeted a convoy of “white officers” and destroyed one of the vehicles carrying them while others were damaged. The Al-Qaeda affiliate did not say how many people were killed in the explosion.

A spokesman for Somalia’s government Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu condemned the attack and said four civilians were killed.

Such acts of terrorism will not derail the peace and the ongoing development in the country. We must unite in the fight against terrorism,” he tweeted.

The deadly car bomb explosion comes a day before an anticipated protest against the current acting President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo and a coup attempt he had allegedly orchestrated to oust the Prime Minister last month, which is scheduled for Thursday despite warnings from Banadir regional authorities, who threatened that they would quell the demonstration.

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