An explosion
caused a number of casualties in the south of the Somali capital Mogadishu on
Tuesday, a government official said.
Al
Qaeda-linked al Shabaab said it was a car bomb targeting a building housing
government officials.
"We
heard a huge explosion in Wadajir district, there are some casualties, but the
number is unknown," Abifutah Omar Halane, the spokesman for Mogadishu's
mayor, said.
Al Shabaab
said they were behind the blast.
"It's a
suicide car bomb in Wadajir District building in which Somali officials and
their staff stay. There are government and their staff who have died at the
scene. We will tell you the number of dead later," Abdiasis Abu Musab, al
Shabaab spokesman for military operations, said, giving no further details.
Al Shabaab
frequently launches attacks on the capital Mogadishu and other regions
controlled by Somalia's federal government. It aims to force out African Union
peacekeepers, topple the Western-backed government and impose its strict
version of Islam.
REUTERS*
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