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- Published on Monday, 05 January 2015 05:20
- Xinhua
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Privacy PolicySomalia's Al-Shabaab militant group has claimed responsibility for Sunday's suicide bomb attack in Somali capital Mogadishu, which killed at least 6 people and injured several others.
"We are targeting convoy of special forces units Alpha Group, and killed many of them at suicide attack," said Al-Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage.
The bomb exploded in front of a military base in Mogadishu.
Witnesses told Xinhua the explosion was so huge that the shockwaves could be felt from a distance. "I felt the ground was shaking and soon there was heavy smoke..." said a witness near the scene of the explosion.
A UN official who sought anonymity told Xinhua that the explosion shook the heavily-guarded airport area, causing panic among people nearby.
The explosion also destroyed four vehicles and structures in the street where the vehicles were.
The explosion could be seen as retaliatory attacks by Al- Shabaab after losing some of its key leaders in U.S. airstrikes, including the immediate former leader Abdi Godane and recent intelligence head Abdishakur Tahlil.
The explosion comes days after the attack by the Al-Qaida linked group, Al-Shabaab, at a base of the African Union peacekeeping force known as AMISOM, which killed seven soldiers and a contractor, on December 25, 2014.
AT LEAST 6 KILLED IN SOMALIA SUICIDE BOMB ATTACK
At least six people were killed and several others injured in a bomb explosion at a security officer's car in front of a military base in Mogadishu, police authorities confirmed on Sunday. Spokesman for security minister Mohamed Yusuf said the explosion rocked the military base, killing the six people and leaving behind a trail of destruction. "We can now confirm that six people have been killed and a number seriously injured," said Yusuf.
Yusuf said the bomb, which was loaded in a vehicle, exploded near the gate of the military base in Waberi district.
Witnesses told Xinhua the explosion was so huge that the shockwaves could be felt from a distance. "I felt the ground was shaking and soon there was heavy smoke..." said a witness near the scene of the explosion.
A UN official who sought anonymity told Xinhua that the explosion shook the heavily-guarded airport area, causing panic among people nearby.
The explosion also destroyed four vehicles and structures in the street where the vehicles were.
The explosion could be seen as retaliatory attacks by Al- Shabaab after losing some of its key leaders in U.S. airstrikes, including the immediate former leader Abdi Godane and recent intelligence head Abdishakur Tahlil.
The explosion comes days after the attack by the Al-Qaida linked group, Al-Shabaab, at a base of the African Union peacekeeping force known as AMISOM, which killed seven soldiers and a contractor, on December 25, 2014.
Al-Shabaab, has often claimed responsibility for such explosions targeting government and UN facilities. MOGADISHU, Jan. 4 (Xinhua)