MOGADISHU, Somalia – At least ten people, including five soldiers have been killed on Wednesday in a suicide car bomb explosion in Somali capital Mogadishu.
A thick plume of white smoke was seen billowing after a suicide bomber rammed his car packed with explosives into a convoy on 21st October road near the airport in Mogadishu, police officer Mohamed Hussein said.
Hussein says ten people, including five soldiers were killed in the explosion.
He says rescue workers evacuated the wounded into hospital.
Meanwhile, Ali Yare, the deputy Mogadishu mayor said the target was the convoy he was traveling in. He says he had escaped an assassination attempt on his life.
Al-Shabab – an al-Qaeda-linked group claimed the responsibility for the explosion.
The group says it had targeted a convoy carrying foreign officials.
In a statement, UN mission in Somalia condemned the attack while denying reports that one of its vehicles was targeted in Wednesday’s suicide explosion.
The attack comes as preparations were underway in recent days for a demonstration against Somalia president Mohamed Farrmajo, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday this week.
