At least 8 killed in Mogadishu by suicide bomb targeting government convoy

MOGADISHU, July 10 (Reuters) – A suicide car bomb targeting a government convoy exploded at a busy junction in Somalia’s capital on Saturday, killing at least eight people, an eyewitness told Reuters.

Abdiasis Abu Musab, military operations spokesperson for the al-Qaida-linked militant group al-​Shabaab, told Reuters it was responsible for Saturday’s attack. The group, which wants to overthrow the government and impose its strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law, frequently carries out such bombings.

Rescuers, security and paramedics are seen at the scene of a car explosion near Banadir hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia July 10, 2021. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

The convoy was carrying senior police official Farhan Qarole, who survived the attack, the Somali government news agency reported.

“I have seen eight dead bodies at the scene including a woman,” Hassan Sayid Ali, a driver of a three-wheeled motorised vehicle taxi, told Reuters at the scene of the blast at Banadir junction in Mogadishu.

Reporting by Abdirahman Hussein, Feisal Omar and Abdi Sheikh Writing by Maggie Fick Editing by David Holmes