Casualties reported as bomb blasts rock in Somali capital Mogadishu

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - Multiple casualties were reported after two successive bomb blasts shook Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Saturday.

One of the blasts targeted the Somali Education Ministry at the busy Zoobe intersection, said a police officer who spoke to Anadolu Agency over the phone on condition of anonymity due restrictions on talking to the media.

The officer did not confirm the casualties caused by the attack but said there were "massive casualties."

The Somali National News Agency later said on Twitter that two car blast attacks by terrorists on Saturday had occurred

It said national police spokesman Sadiq Dodishe had confirmed "scores of civilian casualties including independent journalist Mohamed Saed Kona."

Zoobe is one of the busiest intersections in Mogadishu and witnessed one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the Horn of Africa country's history, killing more 600 people and wounding more than 1,000 others.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack but the al-Qaeda-affiliated terror group al-Shaabab claimed responsibility for recent attacks in Somalia.