Car bomb attack kills Somali policemen
Al Shabab claims responsibility for suicide attack in Mogadishu that killed three policemen while two civilians were also killed by police.
Somali security forces personnel and police secure the area at the scene of a car bomb explosion in Mogadishu, Somalia, on May 9, 2016.
Somali police said a suicide car bomb killed at least three officers, two civilians and left many others wounded on Monday in the capital Mogadishu's traffic headquarters.
"The attack involved two Shebab [Al Shabab] members, one of them driving a car loaded with explosives, and another tried to storm the police headquarters but was shot dead," said Abdifatah Omar Halane, spokesman for the Mogadishu city administration. "We have lost three policemen."
Al Shabab, an armed group which operates in Somalia and beyond, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The official said two civilians also were also shot dead by police, adding that the officers believed to be responsible had been arrested.
Somali security forces personnel move in to secure the area at the scene of a car bomb explosion in Mogadishu, Somalia, on May 9, 2016.
According to the militant group's spokesman Abdiasis Abu Musab, two militants and nine policemen were killed in the attack.
Residents say that the blast extensively damaged the headquarters and shopping places.
Al Shabab frequently attacks military and civilian targets in the country.
The group aims to topple the country's Western-backed government and create a new regime.
In first four months in 2016, 16 attacks were carried out by Al Shabab, although the group did not claim responsibility for some of them.
At least 90 people were killed and more than 60 wounded in the attacks.
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