20 killed in car bomb blast in Somali capital

At least 20 people were killed and more than 30 others wounded in a car bomb blast in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Friday night (local time), CNN reported citing police.

A car packed with explosives was detonated at the gates of Luul Yemeni restaurant near the port at around 8 PM (local time), said Captain Aden Osman, a senior police officer in the capital.

Meanwhile, the explosion was followed by heavy gunfire.

The powerful blast caused widespread destruction of several buildings and business centres in the area, Osman added.

"Plumes of white smoke covered the city after an enormous explosion followed by gunfire," CNN quoted a witness Liban Yusuf as saying, adding that a building near the site collapsed and a rescue operation was underway to evacuate people trapped in the rubble.

The terror group Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack through a statement posted on its affiliated sites.

It is the second attack on the same restaurant since August 2020. The latest blast comes amid tight security measures in Mogadishu during a political crisis over a delayed election. The country's President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo's mandate expired on February 8, with no timely elections held, CNN reported.

Last month, another car bomb was detonated near the Somalian presidential palace.

It further reported that Al-Shabaab was pushed out of the Somali capital in 2011 by Somali and African Union forces, but the Islamist group has been carrying out car bombings and gun attacks in the coastal city.

( With inputs from ANI )