8 killed in blasts on security building in Mogadishu

By Noor Gedi

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - At least 8 people were killed Sunday morning in a twin car bombing at the entrance of Criminal Investigation Department headquarters, at the center of the capital Mogadishu, according to security sources.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fears for their safety, told Anadolu Agency that most of the victims were civilians who were crossing the street at the moment of the attack, adding that the building’s gate was severely damaged.

The sources did not say whether the two cars were driven by suicide bombers or remotely detonated.

Witnesses said they saw the body parts of five civilians scattered around the site of the attack.

At press time no one had claimed responsibility for the blasts, but the Al-Shabaab movement is habitually held to blame for such bombings, as it often claims responsibility.

Security officials have yet to comment on the incident.

The blasts come five days after twin suicide attacks in Somalia at the African Union peacekeeping base, claiming the lives of at least 14 people.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for that attack, saying it was targeting the headquarters for the African Union base.

The Al-Shabaab movement, formed in 2004, is an armed movement intellectually linked to al-Qaeda, and it is named by various parties as a terrorist movement.