3 dead, many injured as suicide bomber hits peacekeepers in Somalia

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – At least three people were killed and several others wounded when a suicide bomber rammed his car into a security convoy in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday, officials said.

The attack took place at a busy intersection near Villa Baidoa, the Somali military's second headquarter in Mogadishu.

Abdifatah Hassan, a police officer in Mogadishu, told Anadolu Agency over the phone the suicide car bomb blast targeted a convoy carrying personnel of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). "We don't know if there are AMISOM casualties."

The wounded were transported to nearby Madina hospital, he added.

Yasin Adan, a paramedic, told Anadolu Agency that he saw several wounded civilians lying on the ground crying before they were taken to the hospital.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack but Somali-based al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group al-Shabaab had owned many recent attacks in the Horn of Africa country.

The attack comes hours after a roadside bomb blast wounded at least three policemen in Mogadishu.