At least 14 people were killed yesterday in a twin suicide car bombing targeting a hotel popular among Westerners in the Somali capital Mogadishu, police and witnesses said.
The death toll includes four members of the security forces, eight civilians and the two bombers.
Security forces stopped a car at a checkpoint near the airport, senior police officer Ali Hassan Kulmiye said.
The car blew up, destroying the checkpoint and opening the way to a truck which also exploded, the African Union mission to Somalia said.
“The drivers [...] were trying to move into the Peace Hotel, which is popular with Westerners and AU and government officials,” Kulmiye said.
The hotel, which is located near the airport, was partially destroyed by the blast.
Security official Mohamed Hassan said the death toll could rise.
Unconfirmed reports said the blast had killed guards standing outside the hotel.
It was not immediately known if anyone was killed inside the hotel.
Witness Omar Afey said he saw at least 16 injured victims at the site.
The second, more powerful blast sent a large plume of smoke rising above the city.
Gunfire followed the attack, which was claimed by the radical Islamist group Shebaab on pro-insurgent radio Andalus.
Unconfirmed reports said the attack targeted an African Union (AU) military base, which is also located near the airport.
But the Shebaab said it had targeted the hotel.
The AU has more than 20,000 troops in Somalia to help the government fight the Shebaab, whose military and terrorist campaign has claimed thousands of lives over the past decade.
Civilians and soldiers stand amongst scattered objects and belongings at the scene of a car bomb attack near Mogadishu’s Peace Hotel.
