News / Somalia

Al-Shabab terrorist attacks kill 17 in Somalia

Sunday, 28 February 2016 7:25 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 28 February 2016 7:30 PM ]

Somali civilians walk near a destroyed building after an attack on a hotel on February 27, 2016 in Mogadishu, Somalia. (Photo by AFP)

Takfiri al-Shabab militants in Somalia have killed at least 17 people in two separate bomb attacks northwest of the country’s capital, police say.

According to police officer Major Bilow Nurr, the incidents occurred on Sunday when the Takfiri group bombed a busy junction and a nearby restaurant in the town of Baidoa, located about 245 kilometers northwest of Mogadishu.

"The restaurant and the junction were very busy and the death toll may rise," Nurr was quoted as saying by Reuters, adding that 10 others had been wounded in the attacks.

Describing the attack, Nurr said, a suicide car bomb blew up at the junction while a bomber attacked the restaurant.

"I heard a huge crash at the busy junction and as I ran, I heard another blast at a restaurant ahead of me. The whole place was covered by smoke," said a witness, adding that he had seen 11 bodies.

Claiming responsibility for the deadly attacks, Shabab spokesman Abdiaziz Abu Mus'ab said, "We targeted government officials and forces."

As recently as Friday the Takfiri al-Shabab group attacked a hotel and a nearby public garden in the capital Mogadishu, killing 14 people and injuring over 25 others.

Somalia has been the scene of deadly clashes between government forces and al-Shabab elements since 2006.

The militants have been pushed out of Mogadishu and other major cities by government troops and the African Union Mission to Somalia, which is largely made up of troops from Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Sierra Leone, and Kenya.

Shabab, which pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2012, has been behind violence and chaos in Somalia since 2006, targeting key government and security figures in the country.

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