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Head of Somalia's Military Unhurt, Civilian Killed in Suicide Car Bomb


Somali security officers assess the wreckage of a car destroyed at the scene of an explosion in Mogadishu, Somalia, July 13, 2020.
Somali security officers assess the wreckage of a car destroyed at the scene of an explosion in Mogadishu, Somalia, July 13, 2020.

The head of Somalia's military escaped unhurt and one civilian was killed on Monday when a suicide attacker drove a bomb-laden car into a convoy in the capital Mogadishu, according to a military spokesman and an ambulance service.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab group said it was behind the attack.

General Yusuf Rage was driving in the convoy near the military hospital in Mogadishu's Hodan district when the blast struck, Colonel Abdiqani Ali, the military spokesman said.

A wreckage of a rickshaw and a car are seen at the scene of an explosion in Mogadishu, Somalia, July 13, 2020.
A wreckage of a rickshaw and a car are seen at the scene of an explosion in Mogadishu, Somalia, July 13, 2020.

"The commander's guards opened fire on the suicide car bomb as it speedily tried to swerve into the convoy. The bomber was shot dead and his car bomb exploded. The commander and his guards escaped unhurt," he said.

Mogadishu's Aamin Ambulance service said it had collected the body of one civilian.

Al-Shabab's military operations spokesman Abdiasis Abu Musab said in a statement: "We conducted a martyrdom operation in Mogadishu. The target was a military convoy escorting senior apostate commanders."

Since 2008, the Islamist militant group has been fighting to overthrow the central government and establish its rule based on its own harsh interpretation of Islam's Sharia law.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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