Update: Car bomb near Somali presidential palace kills 1, injures 10

Update: Car bomb near Somali presidential palace kills 1, injures 10
Security officers stand around the site of the car bomb attack in Mogadishu on February 13, 2021.

MOGADISHU, Feb 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least one person was killed and 10 injured in a car bomb that exploded Saturday morning near the Somalian presidential palace in Mogadishu, police and hospital officials said.

“At 9:10 AM, a terrorist car loaded with explosives … rammed into a checkpoint near the Sayidka Junction. The security forces opened fire at the car while speeding to the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu,” a police statement read.

Police said the suicide car bomber also died in the blast.

“Thank God, the vigilance of the security forces has saved the people from the threat of terrorism to the innocent Somali people,” the statement added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack that comes amid a political crisis in Somalia after the country’s president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo’s mandate expired on Feb 8 with no timely elections.

Saturday’s incident was the second major explosion in the Somali capital in recent weeks. Five people, as well as four attackers, were killed at the Afrik Hotel on Jan 31. The deadly siege left 10 other civilians injured and ended after Somali security forces battled militants for eight hours. — NNN-AGENCIES

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