At least 15 people have killed in a car bomb explosion near a hotel and restaurants in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, according to rescue services.

The blast on Thursday afternoon in the busy Maka Al-Mukarama road sent a huge cloud of smoke into the sky, causing destruction in nearby buildings and parked cars.

"So far 15 people died including five women. Seventeen others were injured in the blast," Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of Amin Ambulance service, told the Reuters news agency.

A witness at the scene said she had seen 18 bodies.

"As a mother, it is shocking for me and I request those behind the explosions to stop. We are crying every day over dead bodies, and it is very hard for us to talk about," the resident, who did not wish to be named, told Reuters.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Mogadishu is regularly targeted by al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group that has has been fighting to topple the country's government.

In 2011, al-Shabab fighters fled fixed positions they once held in Mogadishu, and have since lost many of their strongholds.

But they retain control of large rural swaths of the country, and continue to wage a guerrilla war against the authorities.

On Saturday, 15 people were killed in two explosions and a gun battle between al-Shabab fighters and security personnel in central Mogadishu.</s>A car bomb exploded near a hotel and restaurant in the Somali capital on Thursday, killing at least 11 people, rescue services said.

The afternoon explosion on a busy road in Mogadishu sent a huge cloud of smoke into the sky and destroyed two restaurants and cars parked in the area.

Witnesses reported seeing bodies strewn on the ground as plumes of smoke rose high into the air.

"The death toll we have confirmed so far is 11 people, with 16 others wounded," said Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adan, director of the Aamin Ambulance service, adding that the toll could still rise. "There could be more losses."

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Mogadishu is regularly targeted by the al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabab figthers, who have been battling for over a decade to topple the government.

The attack took place on the busy Maka Al-Mukarama road, one of the main highways through the seaside capital, an area busy with businesses and travellers.

Witnesses said several cars and three-wheeler motorbikes were destroyed by the force of the blast.

 

The bombing is the latest in a recent string of blasts in the capital, which has been hit regularly by Shabaab attacks.

 

Shabaab fighters fled fixed positions they once held in Mogadishu in 2011, and have since lost many of their strongholds.

 

But they retain control of large rural swathes of the country, and continue to wage a guerrilla war against the authorities.

On Saturday, 15 people were killed in two explosions and a gunfight between al-Shabab fighters and security personnel in central Mogadishu.</s>MOGADISHU: At least 11 people died when a bomb exploded on a busy street and ripped into a nearby restaurant in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu yesterday, medics said. Security officials and witnesses reported bodies strewn on the ground as plumes of smoke rose high into the air after the bomb detonated on Mogadishu’s Maka Al-Mukarama road, one of the seaside capital’s main thoroughfares, an area busy with businesses and travelers.

It struck as people were eating lunch. “The death toll we have confirmed so far is 11 people, with 16 others wounded,” said Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adan, director of the Aamin Ambulance service, adding that the toll could still rise. “There could be more losses.” Witnesses described scenes of devastation. “The car bomb struck a restaurant along the road,” said Abdulahi Osman, who was nearby to the explosion.

“This really was a disaster.” Vehicles were tossed into the air by the blast, which also damaged nearby buildings. Witnesses said several cars and three-wheeler motorbikes were destroyed by the force of the explosion. “I saw 16 people carried from the blast scene – and more than 10 of them were already dead,” Osman added.

 Ambulance workers rushed in to help take the wounded to hospital. “I don’t know whether they were dead or wounded, but I could see several people strewn in the street – some of them were motionless,” said Suado Ahmed, another witness who was at the scene moments after the blast. The bombing is the latest in a recent string of blasts in the capital, which has been hit regularly by Shabaab attacks. “There was a heavy blast – presumably caused by a vehicle loaded with explosives,” said Adan Abdikadir, a government security officer.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing. However, Mogadishu is regularly targeted by the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab insurgents, who have been fighting for over a decade to topple the government. Shabaab fighters fled fixed positions they once held in Mogadishu in 2011, and have since lost many of their strongholds. But they retain control of large rural swathes of the country, and continue to wage a guerrilla war against the authorities.- AFP</s>MOGADISHU: At least 15 people died when a car bomb exploded on a busy street and ripped into a nearby restaurant in Somalia's capital on Thursday, medics said.

Security officials and witnesses reported bodies strewn on the ground as plumes of smoke rose high into the air after the bomb detonated on Mogadishu's Maka Al-Mukarama road, one of the seaside capital's main thoroughfares, an area busy with businesses and travellers.

It struck as people were eating lunch. The attack was claimed by Al-Qaeda's Somali affiliate Al-Shabaab, in a statement posted on a pro-Shabaab website.

Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adan, director of the Aamin Ambulance service, said that 15 people had been killed, as well as several more wounded by the ferocious blast. Witnesses described scenes of devastation.

"The car bomb struck a restaurant along the road," said Abdullahi Osman, who was nearby when the blast hit. "This really was a disaster."

Vehicles were tossed into the air by the force of the explosion, which also damaged surrounding buildings. Witnesses said several cars and three-wheel motorbikes were destroyed.

"I saw 16 people carried from the blast scene -- and more than 10 of them were already dead," Osman added. Ambulance workers rushed in to help take the wounded to hospital.

"I don't know whether they were dead or wounded, but I could see several people strewn in the street -- some of them were motionless," said Suado Ahmed, another witness who was at the scene moments after the blast.

Teams of ambulance workers carried away those killed and wounded on stretchers, while volunteers also helped by using plastic sheeting to lift the bodies away. The bombing is the latest in a recent string of blasts in Mogadishu, which has been hit frequently by Al-Shabaab attacks.

On Saturday, Shabaab gunmen attacked a complex housing government ministries in Mogadishu, killing 11 people including the deputy labour minister. Since then at least four people have been killed this week in three blasts, including car bombs and roadside explosions.

"Another day. Another funeral. Another friend dead. Another acquaintance burnt alive. I have been to 4 funerals in 4 weeks. Mogadishans used to talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time, now its degenerated to being at any place at any time," city resident Dalmar Hassan wrote on Twitter.

Shabaab fighters have been fighting for more than a decade to topple the government. They fled fixed positions they once held in Mogadishu in 2011, and have since lost many of their strongholds.

But they retain control of large rural swathes of the country, and continue to wage a guerrilla war against the authorities, striking at the heart of Somalia's government, despite years of foreign military support.</s>At least 12 people were killed and more than 20 others injured when a car bomb exploded Thursday outside a restaurant in Somalia’s capital.

Witnesses tell VOA's Somali service the blast occurred outside the front door of a restaurant along Maka Al-Mukarama road, Mogadishu's busiest street.

“An explosive-laden vehicle was parked in a line of vehicles in front of the Bilsan restaurant, which was busy and at lunch time” said a witness who asked for anonymity.

“The roof of the restaurant collapsed with many people inside, I am not sure what has happened there and how many people were inside, but I can confirm six dead bodies lying the front street,” the witness said.

Authorities of Mogadishu’s ambulance services said at least six other people injured in the blast died on their way to hospitals.

There was no immediately claim of responsibility, but the attack bore the hallmarks of militant group al-Shabab, which frequently attacks hotels and restaurants in Mogadishu.

On Saturday, Shabab fighters stormed a government building in the capital and killed at least 15 people.

A surge in Shabab attacks and reports of suspected attacks have put Mogadishu residents on edge. Some analysts attribute the anxiety to the fact that a large number of militants fleeing from U.S. airstrikes on their rural bases have fled to Mogadishu.

Earlier, the U.S. Embassy in Somalia's neighbor Djibouti reported a security incident at Camp Lemonnier, the U.S. military base in Djibouti.

A spokesman for the U.S. Africa Command tells VOA there was a report of a suspicious package outside the installation.

"Camp personnel responded and determined there was no threat," said Major Karl Wiest. "Normal operations have resumed."</s>By The Associated Press

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia police: At least 5 people, including deputy labor minister, killed in attack by Islamic extremists.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia police: At least 5 people, including deputy labor minister, killed in attack by Islamic extremists.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>At least 11 people died when a bomb exploded on a busy street and ripped into a nearby restaurant in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Thursday, medics said.

"The death toll we have confirmed so far is 11 people, with 16 others wounded," said Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adan, director of the Aamin Ambulance service, adding that the toll could still rise. "There could be more losses."

Witnesses described scenes of devastation, with several people wounded as they were eating lunch.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing.

SHABAAB

Witnesses described scenes of devastation. "The car bomb struck a restaurant along the road," said Abdulahi Osman, who was nearby to the explosion. "This really was a disaster."

Vehicles were tossed into the air by the blast, which also damaged nearby buildings. Witnesses said several cars and three-wheeler motorbikes were destroyed by the force of the explosion.

"I saw 16 people carried from the blast scene -- and more than 10 of them were already dead," Osman added.

"I don't know whether they were dead or wounded, but I could see several people strewn in the street -- some of them were motionless," said Suado Ahmed, another witness who was at the scene moments after the blast.

GUERRILLA WAR

The bombing is the latest in a recent string of blasts in the capital, which has been hit regularly by Shabaab attacks.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing.

However, Mogadishu is regularly targeted by the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab insurgents, who have been fighting for over a decade to topple the government.

Shabaab fighters fled fixed positions they once held in Mogadishu in 2011, and have since lost many of their strongholds.

But they retain control of large rural swathes of the country, and continue to wage a guerrilla war against the authorities.</s>MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Gunmen set off a suicide car bombing and then stormed a government building in Somalia’s capital Saturday, killing at least five people including the country’s deputy labor minister, police said. It…

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Gunmen set off a suicide car bombing and then stormed a government building in Somalia’s capital Saturday, killing at least five people including the country’s deputy labor minister, police said. It was the latest attack by Islamic extremists in the troubled Horn of Africa nation.

After an hours-long gunbattle, Somalia’s security forces took back control of the building in Mogadishu on Saturday afternoon from at least five attackers who forced their way into the government building that houses the ministries of labor and public works, police Capt. Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press.

Saqar Ibrahim Abdalla, Somalia’s deputy minister of labor and social affairs, was killed in his ground-floor office shortly after gunmen entered the building, he said.

Hussein said at least 10 other people were wounded in the attack, which the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group has claimed responsibility for.

Dozens of people were inside the building at the time since Saturday is a working day in Somalia. The building is not far from the headquarters of the Somali intelligence agency.

As the attack unfolded, gunfire could be heard from inside the building. White smoke billowed from the scene, according to witnesses.

A similar attack targeting a busy area in Mogadishu at the end of February killed at least 24 people.

Al-Shabab, Africa’s most active Islamic extremist group, has been fighting for years to take power and create an Islamic state in Somalia. It frequently carries out suicide bombings targeting public places, hotels and government offices despite being pushed out of Mogadishu. It mostly operates from rural areas in the country’s south.

African Union peacekeepers stationed in Mogadishu and elsewhere in the country have helped Somali forces to keep al-Shabab fighters at bay.

The extremist group has also carried out many deadly attacks in neighboring Kenya in retaliation over the country’s deployment in 2011 of peacekeepers in Somalia.

The U.S. military has carried out a number of deadly airstrikes in recent months against al-Shabab.

Associated Press writer Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda, contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>A car bomb killed at least 11 people in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Thursday, police said.

The blast on a busy road destroyed two restaurants and cars parked nearby.

“The blast destroyed a restaurant and killed many who were inside and outside the restaurant,” said police major Mohamed Hussein.

No-one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack but Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants have targeted the area in the past, reports Reuters.

On Saturday, 15 people were killed in two explosions and a gunfight between al Shabaab militants and security personnel in central Mogadishu.</s>At least 15 people died when a bomb exploded on a busy street and ripped into a nearby restaurant in Somalia’s capital on Thursday, medics said.

Security officials and witnesses reported bodies strewn on the ground as plumes of smoke rose high into the air after the bomb detonated on Mogadishu’s Maka Al-Mukarama road, one of the seaside capital’s main thoroughfares, an area busy with businesses and travellers.

It struck as people were eating lunch.

Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adan, director of the Aamin Ambulance service, said that 15 people had been killed, as well as several more wounded by the ferocious blast.

“The car bomb struck a restaurant along the road,” said Abdulahi Osman, who was nearby to the explosion. “This really was a disaster.”

Vehicles were tossed into the air by the blast, which also damaged surrounding buildings. Witnesses said several cars and three-wheeler motorbikes were destroyed by the force of the explosion.

“I saw 16 people carried from the blast scene -- and more than 10 of them were already dead,” Osman added.

Ambulance workers rushed in to help take the wounded to hospital.

“I don’t know whether they were dead or wounded, but I could see several people strewn in the street -- some of them were motionless,” said Suado Ahmed, another witness who was at the scene moments after the blast.

Teams of ambulance workers carried away those killed and wounded on stretchers, while volunteers also helped by using plastic sheeting to lift the bodies away.

The bombing is the latest in a recent string of blasts in Mogadishu, which has been hit regularly by Al- Shabaab attacks.

At least four people were killed earlier this week in three blasts, including car bombs and roadside explosions.

There was no immediate claim of responsiblity for Thursday’s bombing.

However, Mogadishu is a target of the Al-Qaeda affiliated Shabaab insurgents, who have been fighting for over a decade to topple the government.

Shabaab fighters fled fixed positions they once held in Mogadishu in 2011, and have since lost many of their strongholds.

But they retain control of large rural swathes of the country, and continue to wage a guerrilla war against the authorities.

On Saturday, Shabaab gunmen attacked a complex housing government ministries in Mogadishu, killing 11 people including the deputy labour minister.

The Shabaab continue to strike at the heart of Somalia’s government, despite years of foreign military support.
At least 11 people are killed following an explosion in Mogadishu, Somalia.