Several dead in Mogadishu car bombing

A suicide car bombing killed at least six people, including two children, outside a district headquarters in central Mogadishu on Sunday.

Authorities said the attacker detonated his explosive-laden vehicle after security forces stopped him at a checkpoint at the gate of the Hawlwadag local government office.

A spokesman for the mayor's office said the three soldiers who stopped the car died instantly, along with three civilians.

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Fourteen people, including the deputy district commissioner, were critically injured.

Many of the victims were students at a nearby Islamic school that collapsed in the blast. A mosque and the local government headquarters were also brought down. Officials warned the death toll could rise.

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Al-Shabab claims attack

Islamist extremist group al-Shabab later claimed responsibility for the explosion.

"We are behind the suicide attack," al-Shabab's military operations spokesman said. "We targeted the district office in which there was a meeting. We killed 10 people so far. We shall give details later."

Al-Shabab frequently stages attacks in the capital in an attempt to topple the internationally backed government. In October last year, the militant group carried out a truck bombing that killed more than 500 people.

In 2007, a 20,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force was deployed to Somalia under a UN mandate to bolster the government. Somali troops are meant to take over responsibility for the country's security in the coming years.

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nm/rc (AP, AFP, Reuters)

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