People gather at the suicide car bomb scene in Mogadishu, Somalia, Oct. 1, 2018. A suicide car bomb ripped through a European Union (EU) convoy near the Somali defense ministry in the capital of Mogadishu on Monday, police and witnesses said. (Xinhua/Faisal Isse)
MOGADISHU, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- A suicide car bomb ripped through a European Union (EU) convoy near the Somali defense ministry in the capital of Mogadishu on Monday, police and witnesses said.
A police officer who declined to be named told Xinhua over the phone that a convoy of the Italian troops was hit by a huge car bomb.
"Italian troops traveling near Jalle Ziyad area were hit by a suicide car bomb. We didn't hear of any casualty," the officer said.
Witnesses reported the blast, saying they have seen a huge plume of smoke rising above the place.
"It was so huge; we learnt that foreign troops were targeted. Somali forces arrived at the scene and cordoned off the area," one eyewitness, Duniyo Ali, told Xinhua.
Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the latest attack, saying the car rammed into a convoy carrying Italian military advisers and trainers operating under the EU Training Mission in Somalia.
However, the EU mission, which provides military support to the Western-backed government, has not commented on the latest incident, which sources said left at least two people dead.
