At Least 12 Dead In Mogadishu Car Bomb, Ambulance Officials Say

A car bomb exploded near a hotel and restaurants in the Somalia capital, Mogadishu on Thursday, killing at least 12 people in a busy area targeted in the past by Islamist militants, rescue services said.

The afternoon explosion sent smoke billowing into the sky and destroyed two restaurants and some cars parked in the area.

A Reuters witness counted six dead bodies.

“So far, we carried 12 dead people and 16 others wounded. The death toll may rise,” said Abdikadir Abdirahman, director of Amin Ambulance service.

Police earlier gave a death toll of eight.

Colonel Ali Mohamed, a police officer at nearby Waberi Police Station said, the car bomb which was reported by members of the public after it was parked just on the roadside near the hotel, went off before bomb disposal unit reached there.

“Minutes before the explosion, we received reports of the car, but unfortunately the bomb disposal unit did not arrive quickly. It went off. Maybe the terrorist driver who parked was somewhere nearby to detonate it,” Colonel Mohamed told the Horn Globe News.

The blast come amid tension in the insecure capital following alerts of possible terror attacks made by security officials days earlier.

Residents in Mogadishu have shared the alerts of social media warning against visiting public places.

Al-Shabaab militant group usually claims responsibility of attacks in Mogadishu and other cities.

Last week, in a protest of unpaid arrears of months, members of Somali National Army (SNA) vacated key positions in the previous liberated regions and resulting the militants to fill in the gap, sparking fears on the residents in Mogadishu.

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