Ten killed in suicide bomb attack in Somali capital

MOGADISHU: At least 10 people were killed on Saturday when a suicide bomber struck makeshift kiosks in the Somali capital, hitting hours after al Shabaab Islamist militants attacked two National Army bases outside the city, the government said.

“A suicide bomber blew up himself under trees where poor mothers sold tea, milk and (narcotic leaf) khat,” Information Ministry spokesman Ismail Mukhtar Omar told Reuters, adding that more people were wounded in the attack.

The army said earlier that there had been casualties on both sides in those attacks, but it was now in control.

The bases, located about 100 km (60 miles) southwest of Mogadishu, were struck by two explosions, witnesses said. A third explosion targeted a convoy of troops rushing to the bases from the capital after the attack, they added.

Hussein Nur, a military officer, said the army lost “several” soldiers in the attack on the bases, without giving a precise number.

The army sent in reinforcements from other stations, who killed an unidentified number of attackers in the ensuing fight, he told Reuters.

The army had taken control of both bases and the surrounding area and “We are pursuing the militants in the surrounding jungle”, he said.