Thursday October 16, 2014
MOGADISHU, Somalia — At least five people were killed and several wounded when a car bomb planted by Islamist militant group al-Shabab exploded near restaurants on a busy street in the Somali capital Wednesday.Al-Shabab, which wants to topple the government it says is a puppet of Western powers, frequently has launched bomb and gun attacks in Mogadishu and promised more attacks after losing control of a major coastal stronghold this month.
“We heard a huge blast followed by gunfire,” said Ahmed Idris, who was near the Village Market restaurant close to the blast. A tea shop and a pharmacy bore the brunt of the damage.
Idris said several mortar shells landed in the area just before the blast.
Col. Ahmed Abdullahi, a senior police officer, said five civilians were killed, and seven wounded people were taken to a hospital.
Sheik Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabab’s military-operations spokesman, said: “We were behind the blast at the tea shop. We targeted and killed many of the security officers and presidential palace workers who sit there.”
The presidential palace is about a half-mile from the site of the blast.
Al-Shabab also claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack that killed at least seven people at the Oromo restaurant. Musab said it was “because ... workers of the Ethiopian Embassy sat there."
Ethiopian troops are part of an African Union mission fighting al-Shabab in Somalia.