A car bomb exploded earlier Tuesday in near a hotel close to the presidential residence in Mogadishu.
According to the SITE Intelligence Group, the al-Shabaab militant group claimed responsibility for the incident. According to the SONNA news agency, at least 10 people were wounded.
#UPDATE 1: A truck-bomb exploded outside #SYL hotel and near #Somalia's presidential palace main entrance. More casualties feared - police.
— Omar Nor (@Omaar_nor) 30 августа 2016 г.
Police said that a car bomb exploded at a checkpoint of the president's residence.
Loud explosion heard in #Mogadishu reports about a hotel being stormed by gunmen opposite the presidential palace pic.twitter.com/UrGImmhuIx
— Tonton du Bled (@NextDoorArab) 30 августа 2016 г.
According to reports, at least three Somali journalists among the victims of the car bomb explosion.
Fierce gunfire ongoing around the Presidential Palace after ground shaking car bomb. Not clear who's shooting who. #Mogadishu #Somalia
— Live From Mogadishu (@Daudoo) 30 августа 2016 г.
Suicide bombings in #Mogadishu will not turn the city into an open arena for shedding the blood of innocent people.#SYLHotel #Somalia
— Ali Abdi Ali Hoshow (@AliHoshow) 30 августа 2016 г.
PHOTO: The blast rocked a block b/w SYL hotel & #Somali presidential palace, destroying parts of the hotel. 5 dead. pic.twitter.com/RfMcGk5f2l
— Omar Nor (@Omaar_nor) 30 августа 2016 г.
Somalia has been experiencing violence since the country devolved into civil war in the early 1990s. The state’s collapse provided a breeding ground for warlords, pirates and the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabaab. The AMISOM was deployed in the country in 2007.