A vehicle exploded near a busy hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Monday, killing at least six people and wounding four others, police said.

The blast happened near the entrance of Weheliye hotel on the busy Maka Almukarramah road, Captain Mohamed Hussein said. The hotel was left intact, but the explosion damaged a nearby house.

Hours before, a minibus exploded when police shot at it after it refused to stop as it approached a checkpoint in the capital, police officer Nur Osman told Reuters news agency, adding that two people were wounded.

“A policeman at a checkpoint shot at the speeding minibus. It exploded and killed the al-Shabab fighter that drove it," he said.

Somalia's new Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire condemned the two attacks, saying they were carried out by "bloodthirsty groups".

No one has claimed responsibility for today's explosions in Mogadishu. In the past al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab have claimed responsibility for gun, grenade and bomb attacks in Somalia, and tend to focus on Mogadishu and other regions controlled by the federal government. </s> At least 13 people were killed in Somalia’s Mogadishu on Wednesday after gunmen crashed a car packed with explosives into the gate of Dayah hotel, Reuters reported. The hotel is said to be popular with politicians and government officials.

Islamist group Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack on a Telegram messaging account. “The mujahideen fighters have attacked a hotel and have managed to enter the hotel after detonating a car loaded with explosives,” read the statement by Al Shabaab, according to AFP.

The attackers stormed the hotel after the car bomb exploded and exchanged fire with security guards. A second blast went off after ambulances had arrived at the scene, leaving several injured, reported AFP.

The police said that all civilians were rescued, though the death toll may rise. The injured were taken to Madina hospital, where some of them were said to have “very serious” wounds. Dozens of people including lawmakers were said to have been inside the hotel at the time of the attack, a police official told AP.

Al Shabaab frequently attacks hotels and government buildings in Somalia in protest against the country’s government, which is backed by Western countries. On January 2, an explosion near the security checkpoint at Mogadishu’s international airport left three dead. The blast had occurred near the main base of the African Union peacekeeping mission, reported AP. </s> At least four people were killed and 12 others injured in a in Somalia's capital on Wednesday, the police said.

A told that the car filled with explosives went off as the officials were checking vehicles in Mogadishu's district, causing deaths and

"The blast happened in a traffic area at a police checkpoint. So far, we can confirm four people died in the explosion. We are establishing more details on the incident," the said.

A Somali military and her bodyguards were among the dead, while a lawmaker was among those injured in the blast, the report said.

Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adan, of Mogadishu's free ambulance service Aamin Ambulance, said they took 12 injured people from the scene.

The blast came barely four days after a car laden with explosives went off at El-Gabta junction in Mogadishu's district leaving no casualties.

Al Qaeda-allied group al-Shabab, which is fighting to overthrow the government, claimed responsibility of the latest attack. </s> Mogadishu: At least 18 people have been killed and 20 others injured in twin bomb attacks in Somali capital Mogadishu, officials said. Aamin Ambulance Director Abdukadir Abdirahman said 18 people died in Friday’s twin bombings, one of which targetted the presidential palace, Xinhua news agency reported.

“I can confirm to you that we have recorded 18 bodies. Another 20 were injured and we have transported them to various hospitals in the city,” Abdirahman said. Somali security forces managed to thwart an attack at the presidential palace, repulsing militants pushing to enter the compound. A vehicle loaded with explosives exploded near Villa Somalia as security forces pursued it.

Earlier, police told Xinhua security forces manning Villa Somalia repulsed militants who were trying to storm into the palace, killing three of them. “They tried to storm into Villa Somalia but our forces fought them back. The forces were pursuing the vehicle as it headed towards the palace but exploded before reaching the target,” police officer Ahmed Abdulle told Xinhua.

The first explosion went off at around 6 p.m. on Friday, when a vehicle loaded with explosives hit the newly opened Dorbin hotel, near the intelligence headquarters. A second explosion went off shortly after near Villa Somalia. Witnesses recounted of the turn of the events.

“We heard a huge explosion followed by a lot of gunfire near the parliament building. We were told Sayidka hotel was being attacked,” Yasmin Mohamed said. Militant group Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came barely a day after Security Minister Mohamed Islow warned of a minivan loaded with explosives in Mogadishu. Security forces have in the past week cordoned off roads and launched major security operations in the city amid reports of an impending attack. </s> Mogadishu. At least seven people were killed after two car bombs exploded outside a popular Mogadishu hotel Wednesday, and gunmen forced their way inside the building and opened fire, police said.

The attack, claimed by the Al-Qaeda-aligned Shabaab insurgent group, began when a car loaded with explosives rammed the gate of the Dayah Hotel near the Somali parliament and state house.

Gunmen then stormed the hotel and exchanged fire with security guards, according to police official Ibrahim Mohammed.

A second massive blast went off after ambulances and journalists had already rushed to the scene, leaving at least four reporters injured, including an AFP photographer who suffered shrapnel wounds to his shoulder and leg.

AFP images showed security forces and civilians milling about outside the devastated hotel -- its windows and doors blown out -- after the first explosion, when a second car exploded with a massive blast, sending thick plumes of smoke into the air and sending people fleeing.

Gunfire rang out from the hotel as civilians and rescue workers carried away the injured.

“So far we have counted about seven dead, most of them civilians and security guards. There are also many people who were wounded in the two blasts,” said Mohammed. “Two gunmen were killed and the area is under control of security forces,” he said.

“The mujahideen fighters have attacked a hotel and have managed to enter the hotel after detonating a car loaded with explosives,” it said.

The Shabaab is fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government of Somalia and regularly stages deadly attacks on state, military and civilian targets in the capital and elsewhere in the war-torn country. The hotel attack is the deadliest so far in Somalia in 2017 and comes as the country is in the midst of a drawn-out election process to choose a new government.

In December 2016, more than 20 people were killed when a truck laden with explosives was detonated near a military base close to the Mogadishu port.

Somalia has not had an effective central government since the 1991 overthrow of president Siad Barre’s military regime which ushered in decades of anarchy and conflict in a country deeply divided along clan lines.

The clan rivalries and lawlessness provided fertile ground for the Shabaab to take hold and seize territory, frustrating efforts to set up a central administration. (AFP) </s> A car bomb killed at least 11 people in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Thursday, police said.

The blast on a busy road destroyed two restaurants and cars parked nearby.

“The blast destroyed a restaurant and killed many who were inside and outside the restaurant,” said police major Mohamed Hussein.

No-one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack but Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants have targeted the area in the past, reports Reuters.

On Saturday, 15 people were killed in two explosions and a gunfight between al Shabaab militants and security personnel in central Mogadishu. </s> Story highlights Four people are killed and five injured in blast in Mogadishu, Somalia

Car bomb explodes near prison where militant Al-Shabaab suspects are questioned

Mogadishu, Somalia (CNN) The Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a car bombing that killed four people Saturday in the Somali capital.

A vehicle packed with explosives detonated near a prison run by the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency in Mogadishu, Col. Hamza Ali, a senior police officer, told CNN. The car had been parked at the Blue Sky restaurant near Godka Jili'ow prison, a heavily protected facility where Al-Shabaab suspects are questioned.

Five people were injured in the attack, Ali said.

A statement posted on a pro-Al-Shabaab website said the car bomb had targeted a Somali intelligence officer at the restaurant.

Al-Shabaab is a Somali extremist group that seeks to turn the country into a fundamentalist Islamic state. It has carried out repeated attacks against Somalia's government and military targets. </s> Four people were killed while 12 others were wounded after an detonated here on Wednesday.

"The blast happened in a traffic area at a police checkpoint, so far we can confirm four people died in the explosion. We are establishing more details on the incident," a told

The responsibility for the attack has been claimed by Al-Qaida-allied terrorist group Al-Shabab. The car exploded when the police were checking vehicles in Mogadishu's

A Somali and her bodyguards are amongst those feared dead, the unnamed added.

This latest attack comes just four days after another car filled with explosives went off at Mogadishu's District. However, no casualties were reported in the incident.

The terrorist group is responsible for a string of attacks in which have claimed the lives of scores of people. At least 10 people lost their lives and dozens were injured when a car bomb exploded at a crowded mall in the business district of here in February. </s> A car burns after an explosion in Mogadishu Somalia, on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016.

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Somali police officer says a car bomb blew up at the entrance of a restaurant in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, killing two people.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein said the blast Saturday occurred at the Blue Sky restaurant close to the presidential palace.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing but the Islamic extremist group of al-Shabab often carries out such attacks.

Al-Shabab, al-Qaida's East African affiliate, is fighting to impose a strict version of Islam in this Horn of Africa nation. Despite losing a lot of ground in recent years, the extremist group continues to carry out lethal attacks in many parts of the country, especially in the capital. Recent attacks have focused on the capital's hotel industry, which is remerging from decades of conflict.
A vehicle filled with explosives detonates near a hotel in Mogadishu, killing at least six people and wounding four others.