Photo taken on Dec. 28, 2019 shows debris from a damaged car at the blast site in the suburbs of Mogadishu, Somalia. At least 25 people were killed and several others injured early Saturday in a car bombing in the suburbs of the Somalian capital here, said an official. (Xinhua)
MOGADISHU, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- At least 25 people were killed and several others injured early Saturday in a car bombing in the suburbs of the Somalian capital here, said an official.
Government spokesman Ismael Mukhtar Omar said that a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at a security checkpoint on Afgoye road on the outskirts of Mogadishu.
"I can confirm more than 25 people were killed in the attack," Omar told Xinhua as emergency services rushed to the scene to take the injured to hospitals, adding that among the dead were several students.
An unnamed police officer at the scene said the huge blast was targeted at a tax office on the road. "As officials were checking cars passing the road, a car suddenly exploded, causing casualties and damage."
Eyewitnesses told Xinhua that they had heard a heavy blast near the tax office.
"I was in a rickshaw and I heard a heavy blast, then I saw black smoke up in the air," said Jibril Aden, a witness. "All three people onboard a rickshaw right in front of us were killed in the blast. People panicked and ran to different directions for safety."
There is no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but the Islamist militant group al Shabaab has conducted such attacks in the past.
On Dec. 10, at least four people were killed and six others injured when al Shabaab militants stormed a popular hotel in Mogadishu.
