Turkish embassy staff carry a wounded colleague on a stretcher after the suicide attack.

Reuters/Mogadishu

 

A car loaded with explosives rammed into an office housing Turkish embassy staff in the Somali capital, killing three people, witnesses and officials said yesterday, the latest in a series of blasts claimed by Islamist Al Shebaab rebels.

 Al Shebaab was pushed out of bases in Mogadishu by Somali and African forces about two years ago, raising hopes of a return to relative security in a city hit by years of war.

 But the militants have kept up guerrilla-style attacks and continue to control large rural areas, challenging the authority of a government less than a year old.

 The group has carried out several brazen attacks in the last two months, including one on an African peacekeeping convoy that killed 8 and another on the main UN compound in Mogadishu that killed 22 people.

 “A suicide car bomb targeted a building housing Turkish embassy workers near K4 (Kilometre Four),” police officer Ahmed Mohamud told Reuters from the scene of the blast.

 Three people were killed and nine others were wounded, he said.

 “The car was taking advantage of a Turkish car that was going into the building, thus the car bomb exploded and destroyed the gate,” he said.

  A Turkish government official said that one Turkish security officer was killed when the mission’s guards clashed with the attackers as they attempted to enter the complex.

“One of our policemen from the special forces tasked with protecting the embassy annex targeted in the attack has unfortunately died,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

Three Turkish officers were being treated for their wounds, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement and condemned the bombing.

 Al Shebaab, who said earlier this month they would increase attacks during the Ramadan fasting period, claimed responsibility for the bombing on their Twitter feed.

 “Mujahideen forces in Mogadishu have just carried out an operation targeting a group of Turkish diplomats in Hodan district,” Al Shebaab said.

 “All the Mujahideen who carried out the operation have returned safely back to their bases inside Mogadishu, preparing for the next operation.”

 Somalia is attempting to rebuild itself after two decades of civil war and lawlessness, triggered by the overthrow of president Siad Barre in 1991.

 The fragile government is being backed by international aid aimed at preventing it from becoming a haven for Al Qaeda-style militants in east Africa.

 Turkey has led efforts to help Somalia, pouring more than $400mn of aid into the country since 2011, most of it from private companies.

  Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan became the first non-African leader to visit Somalia in nearly 20 years when he travelled there in 2011. Turkey has also sought a greater diplomatic role in the region, including brokering dialogue this year between Somalia and Somaliland.

 A diplomat in Istanbul said Turkish guards were able to kill two attackers before a third detonated his vehicle.

 The wounded “policemen have been taken to a hospital in Mogadishu. We are sending a medically equipped plane to repatriate them,” the diplomat said.

 “Turkey is very active in Somalia and when you are very active you become a target quite easily,” he said.

 Direct flights between Somalia and Turkey started in March 2012. Turkey has helped build hospitals and renovate other buildings in the capital. A separate car bomb yesterday morning that targeted a Somali government vehicle left one person dead.

 On July 12, just a couple of days into the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Somali insurgents killed at least five people in multiple attacks in the capital, with a suicide bomber ramming an African Union convoy while later a grenade was thrown into a hotel.

 Shebaab fighters claimed members of their suicide brigade carried out the attack, calling it “a martyrdom operation targeting a convoy of crusaders”.

 Ramadan often sees a surge in Shebaab attacks, with gunmen urged on by extremist preachers.

 The AU mission confirmed a car packed with explosives “attempted to hit” one of their armoured troop transport vehicles along one of Mogadishu’s main central highways, but that none of its troops were killed in the blast.

 Later the same day unknown insurgents hurled a grenade into the Barwaqo hotel in central Mogadishu, killing two people and wounding at least 10.