Car bomb kills nine in East African country

The explosion also caused the destruction of multiple cars and damage to several buildings.

Al Shabaab militants, through an affiliated radio station, claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that the bomb had targeted a location where security and government personnel gather at night.

An African Union peacekeeping force drove the militant group out of the capital in 2011, but it still controls large swaths of land in Somalia’s southern and central regions, carrying out sporadic bombings and gun attacks on civilians and military infrastructure.

In October 2022, Al Shabaab carried out twin car bombings in Mogadishu, killing more than 100 people and injuring 300. The incident occurred just over two months after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud launched a major counter-insurgency mission, having promised to wage “all-out war” on jihadist groups when he took power in May 2022.