MOGADISHU, April 4 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people were injured on Thursday evening after a car loaded with explosives parked outside a restaurant just opposite a police academy in Mogadishu exploded, witnesses and medical charity said.
Aamin Ambulance director Abdulkadir Abdirahman told Xinhua that the blast which occurred near the gate of General Kahiye police academy targeted police officers who were sitting inside the restaurant.
"We know so far that seven people were injured in the blast and we are establishing if there were deaths," Abdirahman said.
Witnesses said the explosion which happened amid tight security was huge as plumes of black smoke could be seen billowing from the scene.
"We heard huge blast in the vicinity of General Kahiye police academy, and we also saw ambulances rushing to the scene," Guled Afrah, a witness, told Xinhua.
The blast comes while Mogadishu is on high alert as many security forces were deployed to the streets of the capital to ward off possible attacks by the militants.
Al-Shabab which is fighting the Western-backed government claimed responsibility for the latest attack, saying they targeted the police academy. The militant group last week staged a terror attack in the restive Mogadishu, killing 15 people and injured several others.
The group still stages attacks against Somali and African Union peacekeeping forces, targeting their bases, hotels and other public places despite intensified operations from the allied forces. Enditem
