Deaths and injuries as bomb blast targets car in Somali capital

At least two people have been killed and a number of civilians wounded in the attack for which no group has yet claimed responsibility.

FILE PHOTO: Wreckages of cars are seen on the scene of a huge car bomb blast that targeted a security checkpoint near the Somali parliament headquarters in the capital Mogadishu on February 13, 2021.
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FILE PHOTO: Wreckages of cars are seen on the scene of a huge car bomb blast that targeted a security checkpoint near the Somali parliament headquarters in the capital Mogadishu on February 13, 2021.

At least two people have been killed in the Somali capital and several others, including civilians, wounded when a bomb blast targeted a vehicle carrying a local government official.

The attack took place near Bal'ad, where a main security checkpoint into Mogadishu is located, Ahmed Dahir, a local police official, said.

In the attack, an improvised explosive device targeted the local government official, Dahir added.

"At least two people including a civilian were killed and several people including a civilian driving a moto rickshaw were wounded in the attack," he said.

Residents who spoke to Anadolu Agency over phone said they heard a huge explosion.

READ MORE: Militant group attacks hotel in Somalia’s Mogadishu

No immediate claim of responsibility 

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bomb attack but Somali-based Al Shabab, an Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, has been responsible for many deadly bombings in the Horn of Africa country.

Later, a roadside bomb targeted a vehicle carrying police officers in Tarabuka in Mogadishu's Hodan neighbourhood.

Somali police spokesman Sadaq Adan Ali said that one police officer was wounded and the vehicle was slightly damaged.

Local media also reported that at least three people, including civilians, were wounded in the attack, the second bomb blast in Mogadishu in less than four hours.

Al Shabab also claimed on Sunday that it had attacked several bases of African Union peacekeeping forces in southern Somalia overnight.

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