At least five people were killed in a powerful car bomb blast by Al-Shabaab Militants in Mogadishu. Somali Top Police Chief who was at the scene of the bomb blast at the time, survived the assassination.
Somali Police Spokesman, Sadiiq Dudishe explained that the bomber, using an explosives-laden vehicle, struck regional police commissioner Farhan Mohamud’s motorcade at a busy intersection in the capital.
Responsibility for the attack has been claimed Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab terrorist group, which has been fighting to topple Somalia’s federal government for years and has carried out waves of attacks.
The blast tore through walls near the busy road, ripping off roof panels and leaving the area littered with shells of charred cars.
Dudishe said five people died and nine others were wounded but the Police Commander who headed the force in the Benadir region that encompasses Mogadishu survived unscathed.
He said, “the objective of the terrorists was to get rid of the targeted police commander, other officers with him, and any other civilian bystanders,”
Mohamud who had previously led a special police unit carrying out anti-Shabaab operations was in April promoted to the rank of general and nominated as the overall commander of police in Benadir.
He replaced his former boss who had been sacked for trying to stop a parliamentary session.