At least 10 people were killed on Friday in blasts that occurred near a popular hotel and the police headquarters in the Somali capital Mogadishu, police said.
An initial “two blasts struck the perimeter of the Sahafi hotel along the main road... we are getting more than 10 people died, most of them civilians and some security guards,” said police official Ibrahim Mohamed. A third explosion and gunfire were also heard in the area, according to an AFP reporter.
Twin car bombs first went off near two popular hotels as well as the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) police headquarters, followed by gunfire and a third explosion in the same area a while later.
The exact target was not initially clear.
Mogadishu faces frequent bombings at the hands of Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliate which has been fighting to overthrow the internationally backed Somali government for over a decade.
The Shabaab were forced out of the capital by African Union troops in 2011.
But they still control parts of the countryside and attack government, military and civilian targets, seemingly at will, in Mogadishu and regional towns.
Published - November 09, 2018 08:40 pm IST
