UPDATE - Suicide car bombing kills 3, wounds 14 in Somalia

CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK; UPDATES WITH NUMBER OF CASUALTIES, CLAIM OF RESPONSIBILITY

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - At least three people were killed and more than 14 others wounded when a suicide car bomb blast rocked the town of Jowhar on Sunday, officials said.

A police officer in Jowhar told Anadolu Agency that it was a suicide car bomb attack that targeted Nur Dob hotel, killing at least three people and wounding more than 14 others, including the health minister of Hirshabelle state.

The blast also destroyed many nearby buildings and businesses, he added.

Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre condemned the attack and sent his condolences to the victims’ families.

Jowhar is the administrative center of Hirshabelle state and is located 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of the national capital Mogadishu.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency that the explosion had affected nearby buildings and was one of the largest they had heard lately in the Horn of Africa country that has suffered major attacks in recent years.

Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the bombing.