Eighteen killed in a twin car bomb blast in Mogadishu, Somalia

View of the Somali capital Mogadishu. The twin car bomb blast left 18 people dead and dozens injured shattering a month-long period of calm in Mogadishu. (Courtesy)

NAIROBI—The Al-Shabaab have claimed responsibility of a twin car bomb blast that left 18 people dead and dozens injured at Mogadishu, Somalia.

The Friday attack shattered a month-long period of calm in Mogadishu.

The first explosion occurred near the country’s intelligence headquarters, police Capt. Mohamed Hussein said. He said the second occurred near Parliament’s headquarters, where a vehicle tried to speed through a checkpoint.

The explosions came a day after Somalia’s interior minister warned of an explosives-laden vehicle somewhere in the capital.

Security Minister Mohamed Abukar Islow said the security forces had subdued the Al-Shabaab attackers and killed five of them.

“The security minister confirmed the operation was concluded and that the five militants who launched the attack were shot dead,” state-owned media reported.

Al Shabaab military spokesman Abdiasis Abu Musab said they killed 15 soldiers in the attack, but this could not be confirmed.

According to witnesses the streets around the palace and the hotel were surrounded by security forces at the time of the attack.

In October 2017, a truck bombing in Mogadishu killed over 500 people making it the deadliest attack in the Horn of Africa. The Al-Shaabab however did not claim responsibility for this attack.

With African Union troops withdrawing from Somalia, concerns have come up whether the Somali forces on their own will be able to handle the country security as Al-Shaabab attack have become more and more rampant.