Bomb blast kills 1, wounds 2 regional lawmakers in southern Somalia

By Mohammed Dhaysane

​​​​​​​MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - At least one civilian was killed and five other people were wounded, including two regional lawmakers, when a terrorist-claimed bomb blast targeted a restaurant in southern Somalia on Saturday, an official said.

An IED-type bomb was smuggled into the restaurant in Jowhar, a regional capital 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of the Somali capital Mogadishu, a police officer in Jowhar told Anadolu Agency over the phone.

"We know that a traditional elder was killed in the bomb attack, which also wounded five others including two MPs,” he said.

Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group based in the Horn of Africa country, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had targeted lawmakers for Hirshabelle state, whose capital is Jowhar.

In October 2017, at least 300 people were killed in a truck bomb attack in the capital Mogadishu blamed on al-Shabaab – the deadliest terror attack in Somalia’s history.