Mogadishu: At least six people were killed and 10 others injured on Saturday in two separate bomb explosions in Somalia. The attacks took place in the capital Mogadishu and a town in the Middle Shabelle region, according to police and witnesses.
The perpetrators of the attacks remain unclear, though al Shabaab, a militant Islamist group, is known for frequently carrying out bombings and gun assaults in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia.
In Mogadishu, a bomb-rigged car exploded on a road near the National Theatre, about a kilometre away from the president’s office. The blast resulted in five deaths and seven injuries. “The car was parked on the roadside and detonated, causing a massive explosion,” said a police officer who was present at the scene but wished to remain anonymous due to lack of authorization to speak with the media. A second officer confirmed the casualty figures. A police spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
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In a separate incident, a bomb planted in a livestock market in Jowhar, a city in the Middle Shabelle region, killed one person and injured three others. “The explosion took place in a crowded market, causing chaos and panic,” said Jowhar police commander Bashir Hassan during a press conference.
Al Shabaab has been engaged in an insurgency for years, aiming to overthrow Somalia’s central government and impose its strict version of Islamic sharia law.
