The Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a car bombing that killed four people Saturday in the Somali capital.
A vehicle packed with explosives detonated near a prison run by the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency in Mogadishu, Col. Hamza Ali, a senior police officer, told CNN. The car had been parked at the Blue Sky restaurant near Godka Jili’ow prison, a heavily protected facility where Al-Shabaab suspects are questioned.
A statement posted on a pro-Al-Shabaab website said the car bomb had targeted a Somali intelligence officer at the restaurant.
Al-Shabaab is a Somali extremist group that seeks to turn the country into a fundamentalist Islamic state. It has carried out repeated attacks against Somalia’s government and military targets.
Saturday’s attack followed a similar pattern of bombings.
Less than two weeks ago, Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a car bomb that killed a Somali general and four of his guards.