9 People Killed in Mogadishu Suicide Blast
A suicide car bomb attack on a government security base in Mogadishu Monday killed at least nine people, including six policemen, and wounded scores, a police official told Agence France Presse.
At least nine people, including six police officers, were killed. Many others were wounded, the toll could be higher but I don't have more details," said Abdirahman Issa, a senior police official in the Somali capital.
He added a number of civilians in the area were also believed to have died in the explosion.
No group has claimed responsibility yet for the attack, which took place shortly after 8:30 am (0530 GMT), but recent such attacks have all been carried out by the al-Qaida-inspired Shebab insurgent group.
A local street vendor told AFP that two vehicles may have been involved in the attack, which was preceded by gunfire in the area and took place at a time when police officers generally line up to report for duty.
According to Western security sources, the Shebab, who have over the past two years failed to break the transitional federal government's (TFG) last defenses in Mogadishu, held a top-level meeting on February 10.
Top Shebab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane "Abu Zubayr" and other commanders of the movement observed that their operations against the TFG and the African Union troops protecting it had achieved limited success in recent months.
They agreed to intensify their attacks in the coming weeks but complained of a shortage of suicide volunteers and said that those who had been used recently had not performed their task to expected results, the sources said.
Source: Agence France Presse
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