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| Explosion kills Somali ministers | Explosion kills Somali ministers |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A blast at a graduation ceremony in the Somali capital Mogadishu has killed at least seven people, with government ministers among the dead. | |
| The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan, who was at the scene, saw several dead bodies laid out on the ground outside. | |
| The ceremony was being held at a local hotel for the graduation of 43 students from the Banadir University. | The ceremony was being held at a local hotel for the graduation of 43 students from the Banadir University. |
| Islamists are fighting the UN-backed government, which controls small pockets of territory in the country. | |
| Details of the explosion at the Shamo Hotel are still emerging, but witnesses told Reuters news agency it appeared to be an attack targeting government officials. | Details of the explosion at the Shamo Hotel are still emerging, but witnesses told Reuters news agency it appeared to be an attack targeting government officials. |
| Our correspondent says there was a huge explosion in the hotel's meeting hall - where hundreds of people were attending a graduation ceremony. | |
| He said five government ministers were in the hotel and confirmed that two of them had been killed, including Health Minister Qamar Aden Ali, while the others were seriously injured. | |
| Government and police officials told reporters after the explosion that as many as three ministers had been killed. |