Somalia
At least four people were killed on Tuesday when a car bomb exploded at a checkpoint less than a kilometer away from the presidential compound in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, police said.
Security officials at the scene told Reuters the checkpoint was rammed by a car bomb driven by a suicide attacker, causing a blast outside a theater.
“At least four people, including government soldiers and civilians, died in the blast. Several others were injured,” said Mohamed Hussein, a police officer.
“Casualty numbers may rise. There were pedestrians along the street at the time of the explosion,” he told Reuters.
The theater is about 300 meters away from the heavily fortified compound known as Villa Somalia, which also houses other government agencies.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the explosion. In the past, al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab has taken responsibility for blasts and gun attacks in the capital.
Al Shabaab has been able to carry out deadly bombings despite losing most of its territory to African Union peacekeepers supporting the Somali government.
The group’s insurgency aims to drive out the peacekeepers, topple Somalia’s western-backed government and impose its strict version of Islam on the Horn of Africa state.
Somalia swore in a new leader last month. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has promised al Shabaab’s fighters “a good life” if they surrender.
01:03
Kenyan court finds two men guilty of facilitating 2019 hotel terrorist attack
01:12
At least seven killed by overnight floods in Mogadishu
Go to video
UN Pushes for Inclusive Somali dialogue
Go to video
Somali president focuses on reforms, not re-election for now
Go to video
Iran: Death toll in port blast rises as crews scramble to stop blaze
Go to video
Roadside bomb kills 8 bus passengers in northeast Nigeria