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> NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - A Somalia police spokesman said a suicide car bomb by Islamic extremists has killed at least six people in the capital Wednesday.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein said most of the casualties are soldiers and more than 13 people were injured.

Somalia's extremist rebel group, al-Shabab, has claimed the responsibility for the blast, saying it targeted vehicles carrying government officials.

The car bomb exploded at a security checkpoint near the presidential palace in Mogadishu as soldiers were conducting security checks on vehicles on the main road.

Al-Shabab frequently carries out bomb blasts in the capital near the presidential compound and at hotels frequented by government officials and foreigners.

Somalis walk near the wreckage after a suicide car bomb attack in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Wednesday, May 22, 2019. A police spokesman said the attack killed at least six people and injured more than a dozen, while Islamic extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the blast, saying it targeted vehicles carrying government officials. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh) </s> Two car bombs and gunfire near the presidential palace in Mogadishu has left up to 38 people dead and 20 others wounded according to conflicting reports. Al-Shabab, an Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group, has claimed responsibility for Friday’s deadly attack, which appeared to be coordinated. One of the car bombs targeted the presidential palace, while a second blast took place near a popular hotel. Both cars were driven by suicide bombers, according to an Al-Shabab spokesman. Somali officials claim that five attackers were shot and killed in a subsequent firefight. The incident comes a day after the Somali government issued a “terror warning” in the capital. In October, 500 people were killed by a truck bomb in Mogadishu – one of Somali’s deadliest terror attacks. </s> MOGADISHU: Twin car bombs exploded in Somalia`s capital on Friday, killing 18 people and wounding 20 others, the city`s ambulance service said, and Islamist militant group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.

Shooting broke out near the president`s residence at the time of the blasts, police and ambulance services said.

"So far we carried 18 dead people and 20 others injured from the blasts tonight," Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of Amin ambulances, told Reuters.

A big cloud of smoke rose near the palace and gunfire erupted near the president`s residence, a Reuters witness said.

Police and witnesses said the second blast was a car bomb parked in front of a hotel away from the palace.

Police said the first car bomb went off after suspected militants breached a checkpoint near the president`s residence by shooting at security personnel at the checkpoint.

"The militants got off when they neared the palace, the suicide car bomb exploded outside the palace where there were many military soldiers who guarded the street adjacent to the palace," Major Omar Abdullahi told Reuters.

Al Shabaab, who have claimed responsibility for previous bombings and gun attacks in the capital, said they killed 15 soldiers in Friday`s attack.

"Two operations including two car bomb martyrdoms went on around the presidential palace and a national security forces’ base called Habar Kadija," al Shabaab`s military spokesman, Abdiasis Abu Musab, told Reuters.

The group, which is linked to al Qaeda, wants to overthrow the Somali government and impose its own harsh interpretation of Islamic law. It has killed hundreds of civilians across East Africa and thousands of Somalis in a decade-long insurgency.

The streets around the palace and near the new hotel were surrounded by security forces who denied access to ambulances and reporters, witnesses said.

In October, more than 500 people were killed in twin bomb blasts in Mogadishu. The bomb attacks were the deadliest since al Shabaab began an insurgency in 2007. Al Shabaab did not claim responsibility for that incident. </s> A car bomb killed at least five people and wounded 11 others Tuesday outside a security checkpoint near the presidential palace in Mogadishu, Somalia.

A regional government spokesman said the bomb blew up in front of the Somali National Theater. He said three of those killed were soldiers.

Al-Shabab Islamic militants claimed responsibility. The al-Qaida-linked group has been behind numerous terrorist attacks in Mogadishu, including bombings and shootings in hotels and restaurants where government officials gather.

Al-Shabab terrorism is one of the biggest challenges that new Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed is facing.

The militants have declared him an "apostate" and are warning Somalis not to support him.

Al-Shabab remains a danger in Somalia despite being beaten back by Somali and African Union forces. </s> A Somalia police spokesman said a suicide car bomb by Islamic extremists has killed at least six people in the capital Wednesday.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein said most of the casualties are soldiers and more than 13 people were injured.

Somalia's extremist rebel group, al-Shabab, has claimed the responsibility for the blast, saying it targeted vehicles carrying government officials.

The car bomb exploded at a security checkpoint near the presidential palace in Mogadishu as soldiers were conducting security checks on vehicles on the main road.

Al-Shabab frequently carries out bomb blasts in the capital near the presidential compound and at hotels frequented by government officials and foreigners. </s> Somalia blast kills at least 6 near presidential palace

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Police in Somalia say a suicide car bombing near the presidential palace has killed at least six people and wounded several others.

Col. Ahmed Mohamud says those killed in the Saturday morning blast include soldiers and civilians.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein says the bomber targeted a military checkpoint near the rear entrance of the heavily fortified palace.

Police say lawmakers and other officials had been traveling nearby on what is a business day in the Horn of Africa nation.

A second blast was heard shortly afterward nearby in Mogadishu as a plume of smoke rose over the capital.

There is no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group often targets the capital. </s> At least 38 people were killed in two separate car-bomb attacks in Somalia’s Mogadishu on Friday, BBC reported. The first blasts occurred outside the presidential palace on Friday and the second at hotel nearby. Several people were injured in the blast. The attacks follow the government’s issuance of a terror warning a day earlier, Al Jazeera reported.

An exchange of fire followed the blast near the presidential palace. Security forces killed five militants, officials said.

The Al Qaeda linked group extremist group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for both the attacks. The militant group has been targeting the country with attacks to oust the government. A gun battle followed the attack near the presidential palace in which five militants were killed, officials say.

On October 14, 2017, blasts in Mogadishu had killed at least 358 people. Al Shabaab did not claim the attacks, but are believed to be behind it. </s> A car bomb exploded near a checkpoint in Somalia capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, killing at least two people and wounding 12 others, officials said.

The bombing was claimed by Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab, which said in a statement it had targeted a convoy escorting officials and lawmakers heading to the presidential palace.

"A car bomb blast struck at a checkpoint near Daljirka, there are some casualties including members of the security forces," said security official Abdukadir Ahmed after the attack in the south of the city.

Abdikadir Abdirahman, director of Aamin ambulance service told AFP two people were killed and twelve others wounded in the blast.
A car bomb explodes outside the President of Somalia's compound in Mogadishu claiming at least ten people's lives. Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack.