A suicide car bomber in Somalia has killed at least 17 and left dozens more injured in the capital, according to police sources.
Wednesday’s blast took place near a hotel in Mogadishu where local politicians are staying.
“So far we have carried nine dead civilians and 34 others injured. Up to now we have not seen casualties of any legislators. The death toll may rise,” Hassan Ali, a police officer, told the Reuters news agency.
Speaking to the Reuters news agency, Ali said the attacker rammed his vehicle into a cafe by the Hotel Muna, previously stormed by al-Shabab fighters in August 2010. That attack killed more than 30 people.
Police and the spokesman for African Union troops in the Horn of Africa nation, said initial reports showed the attacker first opened fire on people sitting near the hotel before detonating the vehicle.
While al-Shabaab pulled its forces out of Mogadishu last year, they launch frequent attacks against the Western-backed
government with suicide bombers, roadside bombs and grenades.
Al Jazeera’s Nazanine Moshiri, reporting from Nairobi in neighbouring Kenya, said the attacks come at a time when Mogadishu
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