A car bomb in Mogadishu left at least 11 dead after targeting a cafe. Photo – Al Jazeera
A car bomb detonated in a Mogadishu neighborhood destroying the façade of a café which was frequently visited by security forces.
The blast which was targeting intelligence officers killed at least 11 people, police have said. It is not known how many of the victims were government employees.
Al-Shabab, an al-Qaida linked group, has claimed responsibility for the attack and has threatened of more to follow. The frequency of al-Shabab attacks in Somalia’s capital has increased in recent weeks bringing the fear of daily violence returning to the city.
‘We are responsible for the car bomb blast. We targeted the national security forces who were sitting in the tea shop. Today’s blast was part of our operations in Mogadishu and we shall continue,” said Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military operations spokesman.
This attack comes after an al-Shabab affiliated group attacked the presidential palace with two car bombs and seven gunmen last Friday. Earlier this month a car bomb exploded near a U.N. convoy.
Witnesses said the car bomb sped toward the tea shop before detonating.
‘A bomber swerved his car bomb into a tea shop where national security men were sitting and blew up. So far we have confirmed 10 people dead including national security forces and civilians. The tea shop was completely destroyed,’ senior police officer, Colonel Abdikadir Hussein said.
Al-Shabab ruled Mogadishu and most of the southern region of Somalia up until 2011 when African Union forces drove them out. A rare era of peace followed in country until recent weeks when al-Shabab’s presence has increased. Numerous brutal attacks have taken place across the city including the use of mortar fire attacks, complex suicide team attacks and even targeted murders.
The increase in attacks follows plans by the African Union and Somali forces to carry out an offensive against al-Shabab in an attempt to reduce the areas in the country’s south-central region that the militants control. The group, which wants to impose a strict version of Islamic law, still holds swathes of rural territory in southern Somalia and some smaller towns, including the major coastal stronghold of Barawe.
Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed said in a written statement the government has set out steps “aimed at eliminating the threat of terrorism in our country.”
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