Saturday, May, 24, 2014
By Feisal Omar and Abdi Sheikh
MOGADISHU- A car bomb at parliament in the Somali capital
killed at least four people on Saturday, police and Reuters witnesses
said. Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for
the blasts.
Gunfire was heard after the blasts inside the parliament compound, a Reuters witness said. He saw four bodies at the site.
"Two explosions went off inside the Somali parliament house
compound," police officer Major Nur Ali told Reuters. Some members of
parliament were inside the building at the time, one lawmaker said.
Gunfire was also heard from a mosque opposite.
Police confirmed at least four people had been killed.
Mogadishu has been hit by a series of suicide bomb attacks claimed
by al Shabaab militants, who were pushed out of the capital about two
years ago and have waged a sustained guerrilla campaign since then.
A lawmaker said some of his colleagues were in the compound.
"I am now in the town but I know some of my colleagues are having
talks inside the house," the lawmaker, who asked not to be identified,
told Reuters.
(Additional reporting by Abdirahman Hussein; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)