Suicide car bombing in Somalia’s capital kills at least 6

Many victims were students at a nearby Islamic school. Officials warned there could be more casualties as the blast brought down nearby buildings including a mosque.

“I saw bodies strewn on the ground after the explosion before the ambulances and the paramedics reached the scene and the whole scene was very ugly,” witness Halima Mohamed said.

The attacker “literally failed to achieve their goal of inflicting maximum casualties,” police captain Hussein said, accusing the al-Qaida-linked extremist group al-Shabab of carrying out the attack.

Al-Shabab later claimed responsibility for the explosion, which shattered a period of calm in seaside Mogadishu. The Somalia-based al-Shabab often targets the capital with bombings, including a truck bombing in October that left at least 512 people dead.

Somali troops are meant to take over the Horn of Africa nation’s security in the coming years from an African Union force but concerns about their readiness remain high. The U.N. Security Council recently voted to delay the reduction of troops in the AU force from October to February and the target date to hand over security to Somali forces to December 2021.

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Associated Press video journalist Mohamed Sheikh Nor in Mogadishu contributed.

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Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

Abdi Guled, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Suicide car bombing in Somalia’s capital kills at least 6

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