By John Ikani
No fewer than eight people have been killed in a bomb blast in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, rescue workers say.
The blast took place on a road by the entrance to a camp for the Somali Air Force which is close to the international airport.
The Islamist terror group, al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the explosion saying it was targeting “foreign officers.”
Witnesses told the AFP news agency that a private security convoy, escorting foreigners, was passing by when the bomb exploded.
“The blast was so huge that it has destroyed most of the buildings nearby the road and vehicles passing by the area,” Hassan Nur said.
“I saw several dead and wounded people strewn in the road,” he added.
The Somali National News Agency reported “unspecified casualties.” But an official told Reuters news agency that at least eight people were killed.
Wednesday’s explosion came just days after Somali leaders agreed on a new timetable for long-delayed elections.
The Horn of Africa nation had been locked in a political crisis amid a feud between the prime minister and president.
Somalia is also battling an insurgency by al-Shabab.
The extremist group has been fighting government forces since 2007. It had controlled Mogadishu until it was pushed out by African Union forces in 2011.
