At least five people died and eight were wounded Tuesday, November 17, after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a restaurant near a police base in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, police said.
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READ MORE: Government communication sources said two police officers, a military officer and two civilians were killed when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest outside a restaurant that is often used by members of the police academy.
Police spokesman Major Sadiiq Aden Ali confirmed the death toll to VOA Somali. Other government officials said eight others were injured.
The al-Shabab militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Hours earlier, The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump could withdraw U.S. troops out of Somalia under an order being circulated at the Pentagon.
Virtually all of the more than 700 troops conducting training and counterterrorism missions would leave, the paper reported. Pentagon officials have not commented on the report.
U.S. troops in Somalia provide training and advice and assistance to a unit of Somali army known as Danab (Lightning) that has been hailed as model for rebuilding the Somali army.
The U.S. also conducts airstrikes against al-Shabab, which have increased since Trump took office in 2017.
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LINK: https://www.voanews.com/africa/5-killed-mogadishu-bombing-after-report-us-will-pull-troops-somalia