At least 15 people have been killed in a blast in the Somali capital.
According to Somali police, a car bomb went off at a busy marketplace west of the capital, Mogadishu.
At least ten other people have been wounded. The death toll could rise as some people sustained horrifying injuries.
“We have counted about 14 people killed and more than 30 others wounded… the area was a busy intersection alongside the road and there were many civilians when the blast occurred,” the Africa Review quoted a local security official Mohamed Jilibey.
“There were many small scale traders alongside the road and teashops and restaurants. There were also members of the security forces and shoppers and the blast was so huge that it killed nearly 20 people, most of them civilians,” said witness Sumayo Moalim.
No group has yet claimed responsibility but militant group al-Shabaab is the main suspect. The group’s leader at the weekend said al-Shabaab is opposed to newly elected President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.
It is feared that the group may target the presidential inauguration scheduled for later this month.
This is the first big attack in the Somali capital since the election of new President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed — nicknamed Farmajo — although several mortar blasts claimed by Al-Shabaab Islamists marked the official handover of power last week.
Witnesses said the bombing targeted an intersection in southern Mogadishu’s Madina District where soldiers, civilians and traders were present.
