A suicide car bomb killed at least eight people in the Somali capital, Saturday, September 25, near the president's palace, police said.
READ MORE: Witnesses said a car loaded with explosives was detonated at the Elgab intersection while it was stopped for a security check. The blast destroyed a number of cars parked nearby, witnesses added.
Somali police spokesman Major Mohamed Hassan told VOA that eight people, including a police officer, were killed in the blast.
Militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted the main security checkpoint of the presidential palace. The group said, “Commanders and government officials stayed in the area when the attack occurred.”
Somali government spokesman Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu said in a message posted on his Facebook page that Hibaaq Abukar, who was a staffer at the office of the prime minister, was among those killed in the attack.
Somalia Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble said Abukar was an active member of a team dealing with women’s issues.
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