Suicide Car Bomb Kills Security Personnel in Somalia

A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at a security post outside Somalia’s capital Saturday, killing at least six security personnel and injuring seven others. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the early-morning attack, in which the bomber drove a car packed with explosives into a camp manned by military police at Elasha Biyaha, about 20 kilometers west of Mogadishu.

Initial reports say that the soldiers fired on the incoming car but the windows were shielded with metal to deflect bullets, allowing it to hit the perimeter. The bombing targeted soldiers who were assigned to intercept al-Shabab car bombs.

The Somalia government deployed hundreds of newly trained personnel in and around Mogadishu earlier this year to beef up security and prevent retaliatory attacks as the national army, working with local militias, battles al-Shabab in central Somalia.

Earlier this week, an explosion from al-Shabab suicide bomber at a Mogadishu restaurant killed a prominent Somali television journalist, Abdifatah Moalim Nur Qeys. The attack was strongly condemned by the government and media rights groups.