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Somalia: Three killed in car bomb blast in Mogadishu | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Three people have been killed in a gun and bomb attack in the Somali capital Mogadishu. | |
Witnesses told the BBC that gunmen opened fire and detonated the bomb on a busy main road. | |
Many others were injured, most of them civilians. | |
It is not clear who was behind the blast, but the Islamist militant group al-Shabab has carried out several attacks on the same road in the past few weeks. | |
Witnesses said Saturday's attack began when gunmen opened fire on a Somali government official's car, sparking a gun battle with his security escort. | |
"There was a drive-by shooting attack... then a car loaded with explosives was detonated after police reinforcements arrived," a police official told AFP. | |
"The gunmen riding in a car attacked the official and there was [an] exchange of gunfire... then there was a huge blast," said Abdi Mudey, who was near the scene. | |
Witnesses described seeing part of a supermarket and several cars destroyed by the blast. | Witnesses described seeing part of a supermarket and several cars destroyed by the blast. |
Husayn Ali Wehliye, a regional governor, escaped with minor injuries, local media reported. | |
Al-Shabab ruled much of Somalia until 2011, when it was driven out of Mogadishu by African and Somali troops. | Al-Shabab ruled much of Somalia until 2011, when it was driven out of Mogadishu by African and Somali troops. |