Car bomb blast kills 6 near hotel in Somalia's capital

A suicide car bomber detonated near a hotel in Somalia’s capital Monday morning, killing at least six people and injuring four others, police said.

(SeattleTimes)- The bomber detonated near the Weheliye hotel on the busy Maka Almukarramah road, Capt. Mohamed Hussein said. Ambulances rushed to the scene.

The al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the blast, according to the group’s Andalus radio. The group has often targeted hotels in Mogadishu, including a hotel attack in late January that killed at least 26 people.

In a separate blast Monday morning, a suicide bomber detonated a minibus laden with explosives at the gate of a military camp south of the capital.

The bomber was killed and two people were wounded, said Col. Yusuf Burhan, a Somali military officer.

Al-Shabab poses a major challenge to Somalia’s new President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who has vowed to make security a priority in this Horn of Africa country as the fragile central government seeks to expand its control outside key areas like the capital.

(Read More)