Double car blasts in Somalia kill at least 18

By Mohammed Dhaysane and Hassan Istilla

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - At least 18 people were killed and 20 wounded after double car bomb blasts rocked the Somalia capital on Friday evening.

The first car bomb exploded near the Somalia presidential palace followed by a gun battle between security forces and terrorist al-Shabaab attackers, according to state media.

Internal Security Minister Mohamed Abukar Islow confirmed that security forces killed five al-Shabaab attackers after an hour-long battle near the presidential palace.

The second blast targeted a security checkpoint near the Somali national intelligence and security agency headquarters in Mogadishu.

"We carried at least 18 dead people and 20 other wounded people," Abdukadir Abdirahman, the head of Mogadishu’s Amin ambulance service, told local media.

Islow said that the government will soon announce the death toll from the double car bombing.

Friday's double attack comes a day after Islow issued a warning of terrorist attacks at a Cabinet meeting.

According to local media, Somali-based insurgent group al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the Friday evening attack.

Last October at least 300 people died in a previous double car bombing in Mogadishu, the deadliest attack in modern Somali history.