Car bomb explodes outside Mogadishu airport, several killed

Image Source : AP
Several people were killed in a car bombing outside the international airport in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Wednesday.

Highlights

  • Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted white officers passing by.
  • Abdulkadir Adam, a doctor working in Medina Hospital, gave information regarding the number of casualties.
  • Witnesses said a UN convoy passing by appeared to have been targeted.

Mogadishu: At least eight people were killed and nine others injured in a car bombing outside the international airport in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Wednesday. The extremist group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted white officers passing by. Abdulkadir Adam, a doctor working in Medina Hospital, gave information regarding the number of casualties.

Attack on check post on the way to airport

Witnesses said a UN convoy passing by appeared to have been targeted. The blast took place at a checkpoint on the way to the highly-secured airport. However, the United Nations says that there were no UN personnel or contractors in the convoy. Al-Shabaab, an extremist group affiliated with the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, controls parts of Somalia. The group, through its ‘Radia Andalus’, said convoys of ‘white officers’ had been targeted.

Airports have many diplomatic offices
The extremist group frequently detonates bombs at high-profile sites in Mogadishu. Mogadishu’s deputy mayor Ali Abdi Wardhere told reporters on the spot that his convoy was passing at the time of the blast, but he was not hurt. He said that the matter is being investigated. He said that 5 soldiers were killed in the blast while 5 civilians were injured. The international airport complex also houses other diplomatic offices including the US Embassy. The blast comes amid fresh political and security uncertainty in Somalia.

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