MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – At least 18 people were killed and more than 20 others wounded after a suicide bomber attacked a crowd of state employees and soldiers at a tea shop in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu on Friday.
Wounded people were rushed to Madina and other hospitals in the capital by ambulance services soon after the explosion took place.
Many of the dead were chewing narcotic khat as the attack happened at the tea shop which was popular as a meeting ground of soldiers and state employees on Fridays.
Photos circulated on social media by people familiar with the dead, show some of them wearing police and other security forces’ uniforms.
A video posted by some local media outlets show an almost apocalyptic scene in the aftermath of the assault, with the building that housed the tea shop damaged.
Al-Qaeda-aligned militant group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying it had killed intelligence agents, soldiers and state employees in the bombing.
Government officials have not immediately commented on the blast, which comes a few weeks after unidentified man detonated an explosive vest among packed crowd of recruits outside a military base in the capital Mogadishu.
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