Car bomb targeted at Diplomats from United Arab Emirates 12 people including Somali Soldiers

A car bomb which was targeted at a bulletproof vehicle carrying diplomats from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has killed at least 12 people, including four Somali soldiers, in Mogadishu.
The armed group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack in Mogadishu.

Abdulaziz Abu Muscab said "We targeted a vehicle carrying the enemies of Somalia."

Muscab later told Reuters news agency that the attack targeted UAE nationals. They were military trainers, Hussein Afrah, a Somali military officer, told Reuters, confirming the intended targets were not hurt.

The explosion happened near a defence ministry hospital and heavy gunfire was heard soon afterwards.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes as civilians fled through nearby alleys while soldiers fired in the air to prevent a crowd from gathering. Civilians carried victims to nearby hospitals.

"The explosion was very heavy and it destroyed the pick-up truck," said Hassan Bile, an eyewitness.

Local officials said that the Emiratis were unharmed.

Nick Kay, the United Nations envoy to Somalia, condemned the "utterly cruel" attack, saying he had spoken to the UAE ambassador, Mohamed Al Osmani, who was not harmed in the explosion.

Al-Shabab has vowed to step up attacks against the government of Somalia during the month of Ramadan.

Source:

Aljazeera