Car bomb attack kills at least 7 in Somali capital

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia

At least seven people were killed and more than 10 others wounded in a car bomb attack targeting a busy cafe near two ministry buildings in capital Mogadishu on Wednesday.

Banadir regional municipality spokesman, Abdi Fatah Omar Hallanne, told Anadolu Agency that the explosion happened around lunch time at a cafe near the Ministry of Internal Security, and the dead included one woman.

"It was lunch time when the car exploded. A large number of people were there, but we have seen at least seven people die," Hallanne said.

Information Minister Abdirahman Omar Osman confirmed the blast on Twitter.

"A car with explosives detonated at a cafeteria outside the ministry of Youth & Sports in Mogadishu - there are casualties," he said.

The attack came just a day after Mohamed Abukar Islow took office as the country's new security minister.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but al-Shabaab militant group has carried out similar attacks in the past.