MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A police officer says a car bomb blast near a police station in Somalia’s capital has killed at least five people and wounded at least 13 others.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein says the explosion near Waberi police station along the busy Maka Almukarramah road may have been a suicide bomber.

Most of the victims are civilians.

The exact target of the blast remains unclear.

The Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab often carries out deadly bombings in Mogadishu. </s> A car bomb exploded near a police station in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, killing at least six people and wounding another 13, police and witnesses said.

The bomb detonated as the car was driving in the busy Maka al-Mukaram road.

"The death toll may rise. Most of the injured ones are very serious," police officer, Mohamed Hussein, told Reuters news agency.

Rescue workers and civilians carried bloodied bodies and injured victims to hospitals.

Photojournalist Abdirizak Mohamud Tuuryare was at the scene.

"I saw bodies of five people, including women," he told Al Jazeera.

The blast occurred amid a traffic jam while soldiers were searching cars at a nearby intersection.

Most of the victims are civilians.

The exact target of the blast remains unclear.

No group has claimed responsibility for the apparent attack.

Somalia's Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire said no such blast had taken place in the capital for a month. </s> MOGADISHU, Somalia — A car bomb exploded near a police station in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, on Sunday, killing at least six people and wounding at least 13 others, according to a police captain.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein said the explosion, near Waberi police station along the busy Maka Almukarramah road, might have been the work of a suicide bomber.

Abdifitah Omar Halane, an official in the Banadir region, where the blast occurred, said at least four people had been killed and six others wounded, but local media reports and witnesses put the death toll much higher.

Most of the victims were civilians, the police said, but the exact target of the blast was not immediately clear.

Abdi Ali Shire, a Somali media trainer who was about 100 meters, or 328 feet, away from the explosion, said the bomb went off in front of the Midnimo Supermarket among dozens of vehicles that were lined up, and some cars driving on the road. He was not hurt in the blast.

He said that he saw about four people burning alive, and that more than a dozen might have been killed in the attack.

The blast sent thick smoke and flames into the sky, and set several cars on fire, he added.

Mogadishu has been relatively calm in recent days, after the government of Somalia began a security operation in the city. But episodes of violence have erupted. On Wednesday, at least six government soldiers were killed. </s> Officials in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, say a car bomb has hit a district headquarters, killing at least six people and injuring 16.

The blast targeted the headquarters of Hodan district in Mogadishu. Witnesses said the explosion Monday caused massive destruction to the building.

"The blast was huge," police officer Ibrahim Mohamed, told the French news agency, AFP.

The al-Shabab militant group claimed responsibility via their affiliate social media accounts.

It is the second time the group has targeted a local district headquarters in Mogadishu this month. On September 2, a suicide car bomb destroyed the headquarters of the neighboring Hawlwadag district, killing three people. </s> At least 6 people have been killed and around 13 wounded in a car bomb blast in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu on Sunday. The explosion was described by Reuters as "huge."RT spoke to a local journalist, Yahye Young from Mogadishu's Mustaqbal Radio, who said he witnessed first-hand eight dead people strewn across the area where the bomb detonated.Police have said, however, that the number of casualties is likely to rise.Photographs and videos shared on social media show the immediate aftermath of the blast, with a burning car visible on the street. One dramatic video shows people carrying the injured away from the scene of the blast.The blast occurred in the city's the busy area of Maka al Mukarramah Road, located near the Waberi police station.No one as yet has claimed responsibility for the attack.However, Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab has carried out a spate of bloody suicide attacks in the city in recent months, amid a campaign of violence gripping the nation struggling to overcome an Islamist insurgency. </s> At least five people have been killed and 13 others injured in a car bomb blast near a police station in Somalia's capital Mogadishu.

The explosion shattered a month of relative calm in the city, which is often a target of the extremist group al-Shabab.

The blast near Waberi police station along the busy Maka Almukarramah road may have been a suicide bomber, police chief Mohamed Hussein said.

Burning vehicles outside Midnimo mall after a car bomb attack on a popular mall in Mogadishu, Somalia. Photo: AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab often carries out deadly bombings in Mogadishu against high-profile targets such as hotels and checkpoints.

Most of the victims of the latest attack were civilians.

The exact target of the blast is unclear, but it occurred amid a traffic jam while soldiers were searching cars at a nearby intersection.

Somali prime minister Hassan Ali Khaire said no such blast had occurred in the capital for a month.

At the blast scene, rescue workers and civilians carried bloodied bodies and injured victims to hospitals. </s> Six people were killed and another 16 injured when a car bomb exploded outside a local government office in Mogadishu on Monday, Somali police and rescue workers said."Our ambulance teams have collected the...Read more via IOL News – https://ift.tt/2N11Gul Get more World News </s> A car bomb blast near a police station in Somalia's capital on Sunday killed at least five people and wounded at least 13 others, police said.

The explosion shattered a month of relative calm in Mogadishu, often a target of the extremist group al-Shabab.

The blast near Waberi police station along the busy Maka Almukarramah road may have been a suicide bomber, Capt. Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab often carries out deadly bombings in Mogadishu against high-profile targets such as hotels and checkpoints.

Most of the victims Sunday were civilians.

The exact target of the blast remained unclear. The blast occurred amid a traffic jam while soldiers were searching cars at a nearby intersection.

Somalia's Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire said no such blast had occurred in the capital for a month.

At the blast scene, rescue workers and civilians carried bloodied bodies and injured victims to hospitals. </s> MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A Somali police officer says a suicide car bomber has killed at least six people and injured five others at a police station in the Somalia capital.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein said the attack early Sunday targeted a police station near the Mogadishu port and largely destroyed the building and others nearby.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, the second blast in the seaside capital in two days.

A suspected suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a security checkpoint near Mogadishu on Saturday when soldiers stopped him for security checks.

Despite being ousted from most of its key strongholds in Somalia, the Islamic extremist group, al-Shabab, still launches deadly attacks across large parts of south and central Somalia.
A car bomb explodes near a police station in Mogadishu, killing at least six people and wounding thirteen others.