Monday, March 18, 2013
An explosives-laden car that apparently was targeting a truck full of
Somali government officials instead hit a civilian car and exploded,
setting a nearby mini-bus on fire and killing at least seven people
Monday, police and witnesses said.Flames and smoke rose over the
explosion as emergency vehicles drove to the scene. The blast happened
close to the Somali government's headquarters.
Mohamed Abdi, a
police officer who was injured in the blast, said it appeared that the
target of the attack was a truck of Somali intelligence officials. Abdi
Mohamud Aden, a Somali police captain, said at least seven people were
killed and 10 wounded. He said that number could rise.
A
journalist who was wounded in the blast while sitting in a nearby
restaurant said several people inside the restaurant were injured.
The
militant group al-Shabab has continued to carry out terror attacks in
Somalia's capital since being pushed out of Mogadishu in late 2011. No
one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.