MOGADISHU // A car bomb killed at least nine people and wounded many others at a restaurant in Somalia’s capital yesterday.
At least eight people were wounded in the attack, said police officer Mohamed Hussein.
The car with the bomb had been parked near Somalia’s heavily guarded presidential palace when it exploded.
Although no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, it bears the hallmarks of the extremist group Al Shabab, which frequently carries out attacks in Mogadishu and throughout Somalia.
At least seven people were killed on Monday when a bomb planted in a UN van exploded in the northern area of Puntland, a semiautonomous region that is normally peaceful. Four UN staff working to help Somali children were among those killed in that attack.
Al Shabab, which is allied to Al Qaeda, appears to be stepping up attacks in Somalia and across borders even as it loses ground inside Somalia.
Despite losing some of its top leaders in US air strikes and being pushed by African Union forces out of the capital, Mogadishu, and into rural regions mostly in southern Somalia, Al Shabab is still able to carry out deadly bombings against government targets and public places seen as popular with foreigners.
The extremists have also attacked neighbouring Kenya, which has sent troops to Somalia to fight the insurgents. Al Shabab claimed responsibility for an attack earlier this month at a university in eastern Kenya which killed at least 148 people.
*Associated Press
