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Deadly blast hits government convoy in Mogadishu | Deadly blast hits government convoy in Mogadishu |
(35 minutes later) | |
A car bomb has exploded near a government convoy in the Somali capital Mogadishu, killing at least eight people, officials say. | A car bomb has exploded near a government convoy in the Somali capital Mogadishu, killing at least eight people, officials say. |
A police spokesman told AFP news agency a suicide attacker had driven a car laden with explosives at an armoured government vehicle. | A police spokesman told AFP news agency a suicide attacker had driven a car laden with explosives at an armoured government vehicle. |
Eyewitnesses told the BBC a government vehicle carrying foreign aid workers had been targeted. | |
The attack comes days before a conference in London on Somalia. | |
No group said immediately it had carried out Sunday's attack. | No group said immediately it had carried out Sunday's attack. |
The country's main Islamist group al-Shabab, which is part of al-Qaeda, has been forced out of the main cities in the south and centre but still controls smaller towns and many rural areas. | The country's main Islamist group al-Shabab, which is part of al-Qaeda, has been forced out of the main cities in the south and centre but still controls smaller towns and many rural areas. |
Motionless | Motionless |
Ten people were also injured by the explosion, BBC reporter Mohamed Ibrahim reports from the city. | |
Government forces had only re-opened the main roads in Mogadishu on Saturday after a four-day ban on vehicle traffic, he adds. | |
The ban had been aimed at preventing attacks by al-Shabab. | |
A Reuters news agency photographer said he could see three people lying motionless near the wreckage of four burning cars. | |
The London conference will discuss how best the international community can support Somalia's progress. | The London conference will discuss how best the international community can support Somalia's progress. |
More than 50 countries and organisations are due to take part when it opens on Tuesday, co-hosted by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and UK Prime Minister David Cameron. | More than 50 countries and organisations are due to take part when it opens on Tuesday, co-hosted by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and UK Prime Minister David Cameron. |
The UK recently re-opened its embassy in Mogadishu. | The UK recently re-opened its embassy in Mogadishu. |
The security situation in city was thought to have been improving after two decades of conflict, despite occasional attacks. | The security situation in city was thought to have been improving after two decades of conflict, despite occasional attacks. |
Masked gunmen shot dead the deputy chief prosecutor, Ahmad Shaykh Nur Maalin, last month in the city centre. | Masked gunmen shot dead the deputy chief prosecutor, Ahmad Shaykh Nur Maalin, last month in the city centre. |