Mogadishu, Nov 08, 2013 (SDN) –A suspected bomb attack outside a popular hotel in the Somali capital on Friday evening killed at least four policemen and two civilians, a senior officer said. Mogadishu has often been the target of attacks by al Shabaab, an al Qaeda-aligned Islamist group that was driven out of the capital by African troops two years ago. In an attack in September, 15 people were killed at a restaurant.
Farah Aden, a senior police officer, told Reuters that the blast went off in front of Hotel Maka, which lies on a main road through Mogadishu.
“So far we confirmed four policemen and two civilians dead. We also see a burning car. It may be a remote bomb targeting the police who went to the hotel because militant suspects had been arrested hours before,” he said.
“It could also be a bomber who targeted the police and who wanted to enter the hotel,” he added.
Shortly after the blast, ambulance sirens wailed as they rushed to the scene.
In the September attack, al Shabaab rebels deployed a car bomb and suicide bomber, killing at least 15 people and wounding 23 others.
Source: Agencies
