A suicide car bomb has killed at least five people in an attack at the entrance of the Somali parliament, witnesses told Al Jazeera.

The blast on Saturday killed at least three soldiers and two civilians, a source at the scene said. A sixth person was shot dead by soldiers as he drove past the attack, the source added.

Abdi Barre, an MP who was in the parliament building and who also witnessed the attack, told Al Jazeera: “It was a large explosion. A suicide car bomb. There are casualties.”

Somalia government spokesman, Ridwaan Haji, told Al Jazeera: “Three soldiers were killed and two others injured. A number of civilians have also been injured and investigations are underway. It is too early to say it is al-Shabab.”

No one has so far claimed to have carried out the bombing, but the armed group al-Shabab has attacked the compound before.

“Another senseless attack in Mogadishu close to Parliament. I condemn it strongly. Our will to help Somalis build peace is even stronger,” Nick Kay, the UN special representative for Somalia, said on Twitter.

Al-Shabab gunmen and suicide bombers killed 10 people in an attack on the parliament in May.

Al-Shabab assassinated Mohamed Mohamud Hayd, a senior MP, and wounded another politician in a drive-by shooting in the Somali capital on Thursday. Hayd was the fourth politician killed by the group this year.

Comments

comments