Two car explosions were heard on Saturday afternoon in the heart of Mogadishu amid a surge in targeted assassinations in the city. A witness told Somali Times that the first car bomb occurred close to Olow Tower near Dabka junction while the 2nd Explosion went off on the backside of Hotel Maka Al-Mukarama.
Sources said one of the car bombs was targeted a senior Somali government official, but, under the seat of a car owned by a university lecturer it was unclear if he was travelling in the car at the time.“According to security officials, The bombs were planted in the cars by terrorists,”
There was an immediate claim of responsibility for the twin car bombings in the capital which in the past witnessed series of attacks, some claimed by Al Shabaab.
Mogadishu with car bombs often used to infiltrate heavily protected facilities including government institutions amid an increase in security checkpoints and soldiers inspecting cars and motorists deployed across the city.