Car bomb kills at least 11 in Somalia's capital
Several people were wounded in the blast that occurred in Mogadishu's Hamarweyne district, a busy area with shops and restaurants, officials say.
A member of the Somali security forces walks through the scene of an explosion in Mogadishu, Somalia Fabruary 4, 2019.
At least eleven people were killed and several wounded when a car loaded with explosives blew up near a mall in a busy market in the Somali capital on Monday, police said.
"Several dead people were removed from a wrecked building at the blast scene. So far the death toll is 11 civilians and 10 others injured," Mohamed Hussein, a police officer, told Reuters.
Mogadishu's Hamarweyne district is a busy area with shops and restaurants.
A Reuters witness saw four cars burned and a restaurant was destroyed.
TRT World's Reagan Des Vignes reports.
Al Shabab behind attack?
Police say militant group Al Shabab could be behind the bombing.
Al Shabab frequently targets Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia against government and other installations.
The group is trying to remove the Western-backed central government and establish its own rule.
Al Shabab's militants also carry out attacks outside Somalia, especially in Kenya to pressure it to withdraw troops who form part of an African peacekeeping force that helps defend the central government.
Its latest assault in Kenya, a suicide and gun attack at an office and hotel complex in the capital Nairobi last month, killed 21 people.
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