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Agence France-Presse

At least 11 people died when a bomb exploded on a busy street and ripped into a nearby restaurant in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Thursday, medics said.
Security officials and witnesses reported bodies strewn on the ground as plumes of smoke rose high into the air after the bomb detonated on Mogadishu’s Maka Al-Mukarama road, one of the seaside capital’s main thoroughfares, an area busy with businesses and travellers.

It struck as people were eating lunch.
“The death toll we have confirmed so far is 11 people, with 16 others wounded,” said Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adan, director of the Aamin Ambulance service, adding that the toll could still rise. “There could be more losses.”
Many dead, dozens wounded after al-Shabab bombing, gun battle in Somalia capital Mogadishu
Witnesses described scenes of devastation.
“The car bomb struck a restaurant along the road,” said Abdulahi Osman, who was nearby to the explosion. “This really was a disaster.”
Vehicles were tossed into the air by the blast, which also damaged nearby buildings. Witnesses said several cars and three-wheeler motorbikes were destroyed by the force of the explosion.

“I saw 16 people carried from the blast scene – and more than 10 of them were already dead,” Osman added.
Ambulance workers rushed in to help take the wounded to hospital.
“I don’t know whether they were dead or wounded, but I could see several people strewn in the street – some of them were motionless,” said Suado Ahmed, another witness who was at the scene moments after the blast.
The bombing is the latest in a recent string of blasts in the capital, which has been hit regularly by Shabaab attacks.
“There was a heavy blast – presumably caused by a vehicle loaded with explosives,” said Adan Abdikadir, a government security officer.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing.
However, Mogadishu is regularly targeted by the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabab insurgents, who have been fighting for over a decade to topple the government.
Shabaab fighters fled fixed positions they once held in Mogadishu in 2011, and have since lost many of their strongholds.
But they retain control of large rural swathes of the country, and continue to wage a guerilla war against the authorities.


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Africa

Heavy bomb blast in Somali capital Mogadishu kills at least 11, injures 16 on one of city’s busiest streets

Medics carry away the dead body of a woman killed after a blast outside a restaurant in Mogadishu. Photo: AP Photo

Somalis carry away a man who was wounded after blast outside a restaurant in Mogadishu, Somalia, Thursday, March 28, 2019. A Somali police officer says an explosives-laden vehicle has detonated outside a restaurant in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

A member of security forces walks past the burned-out vehicle after a bomb planted in it exploded in Mogadishu, Somalia Tuesday, March 26, 2019. A Somali police officer says the bomb exploded killing the driver and injuring a nearby pedestrian in the Hodan district of the capital. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

At least 20 killed in ‘huge’ blast in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu

Vehicles burn at the scene of a massive explosion in front of the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia. Photo: EPA

epa06265445 People carry a victim out of the scene of a massive explosion in front of Safari Hotel in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia, 14 October 2017. Reports state at least 20 peole have been killed when a truck bomb went off on a busy street in central Mogadishu. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the country's Islamist militant group al-Shabab often carries out similar attacks in the capital. EPA-EFE/SAID YUSUF WARSAME

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY Civilians, injured during an explosion, evacuate from the scene in KM4 street in the Hodan district of Mogadishu, Somalia October 14, 2017. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

A general view shows the scene of an explosion in KM4 street in the Hodan district of Mogadishu, Somalia October 14, 2017. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH Somali Armed Forces evacuate their injured colleague, from the scene of an explosion in KM4 street in the Hodan district of Mogadishu, Somalia October 14, 2017. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

At least 28 dead after Somali Islamists attack Mogadishu hotel

The attackers set off a second bomb as rescue workers worked at the scene of the first explosion. Photo: EPA

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUALS COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY - Somali government soldiers assist their injured colleague from the scene of an explosion in front of Dayah hotel in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

epa05748306 An injured man is carried by helpers away from the scene of a car bomb attack at the Dayah Hotel, located near Somalia's parliament in central Mogadishu, Somalia, 25 January 2017. The attackers set off a second bomb as rescue workers worked at the scene of the first explosion. EPA/SAID YUSUF WARSAME

epa05748307 An injured man is carried by helpers away from the scene of a car bomb attack at the Dayah Hotel, located near Somalia's parliament in central Mogadishu, Somalia, 25 January 2017. The attackers set off a second bomb as rescue workers worked at the scene of the first explosion. EPA/SAID YUSUF WARSAME

epa05748740 The bodies of three people who died in a car bomb attack are covered at the scene of the attack at the Dayah Hotel, located near Somalia's parliament in central Mogadishu, Somalia, 25 January 2017. Attackers set off a second bomb as rescue workers worked at the scene of the first explosion. EPA/SAID YUSUF WARSAME GRAPHIC CONTENT BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE

TOPSHOT - People react and walk among rubbles following an attack outside an hotel on January 25, 2017, in Mogadishu. At least seven people were killed after two car bombs exploded outside a popular Mogadishu hotel and gunmen forced their way inside the building and opened fire, police said. The attack, claimed by the Al-Qaeda aligned Shabaab insurgent group, began when a car loaded with explosives rammed the gate of the Dayah Hotel near the Somali parliament and state house. Gunmen then stormed the hotel and exchanged fire with security guards, according to police official Ibrahim Mohammed. / AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED ABDIWAHAB

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Director of the Aamin Ambulance service says the toll could still rise
Mogadishu is regularly targeted by the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabab insurgents


Director of the Aamin Ambulance service says the toll could still rise


Terrorism

Heavy bomb blast in Somali capital Mogadishu kills at least 11, injures 16 on one of city’s busiest streets

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Director of the Aamin Ambulance service says the toll could still rise Mogadishu is regularly targeted by the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabab insurgents

Director of the Aamin Ambulance service says the toll could still rise

Mogadishu is regularly targeted by the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabab insurgents