MOGADISHU: Six people including two civilians were killed and nine others wounded in a suicide attack on a military outpost in the outskirts of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday, police said.

The attack was claimed by the militant Al Shabaab group.

Witnesses said a suicide bomber drove a vehicle loaded with explosives to the Ceelasha-Biyaha military post in the western suburbs of Mogadishu. The subsequent powerful blast caused extensive damage, including to nearby homes, they said.

“The Al Shabaab, as they usually do, tried to bring a vehicle loaded with explosives and metal into Mogadishu,” said Somali police spokesman Sadik Dudishe.

“But after they were denied access, they have detonated the vehicle on the base of the security forces at the Ceelasha-Biyaha,” he added.

“The number of the casualties recorded is six dead — four of them from the security forces and two civilians — and nine wounded, four of them civilians.” One witness, Mohamed Sharif, said he had seen the bodies of five civilians.

“I was riding in a minibus very close to the area of the explosion,” he said. “We were very lucky none of the passengers of the bus was hurt. “I saw the dead bodies of five civilians including an elderly man,” he added.

Published in Dawn, October 22th, 2023