Car bomb blast kills 5 in Somali capital

At least five people were killed and more than nine wounded when a car bomb went off near Somalia's presidential palace in the capital Mogadishu, officials said Thursday.

"What we know so for about the attack is that a car bomb blast targeted the busy Dalsan restaurant, killing five people, including soldiers and civilians," Adan Ahmed, a police officer, told Anadolu Agency over the phone.

More than nine other people, mostly civilians, were wounded and were rushed to hospitals for treatment, he added.

Somali insurgent group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack via the Internet and said it had targeted government officials.

This attack comes one week after the group claimed responsibility for a suicide blast attack and 24-hour gun battle with security forces in Mogadishu which killed more than 15 people and wounded over 60 others.

On Oct. 14, 2017, at least 300 people were killed in a truck bomb blast attack in Mogadishu blamed on al-Shabaab.