Senior police officer critically wounded in Somalia blast

MOGADISHU, Somalia – A senior police officer was critically wounded in a powerful bomb explosion in central Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu on Monday morning, Garowe Online reports.

The Somali police confirmed that Mohamed Abdulle in ‘critical condition’ after an explosive device planted in his vehicle exploded while he was refueling at a petrol station near Mogadishu seaport.

“A car bomb exploded near a queue of several cars waiting to get fuel from a petrol station in central Baghdad on Monday,” said Aden Hussein, a witness who spoke to Garowe Online over the phone.

The explosion set fire to the petrol station, sending sent huge plumes of black smoke and flames billowing into the city sky, said Aden, adding that police arrived and sealed off the scene following the incident.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but, Somali security officials have blamed the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabab extremist group for attempted assassination against the police officer.

Mogadishu has witnessed deadly attacks in recent years as the Islamist group regularly launches attacks on government buildings and hotels in the volatile country in the Horn of Africa.

GAROWE ONLINE