15 killed in bomb blast in Somalia

MOGADISHU - At least fifteen people were killed and more than 30 injured Tuesday after a roadside bomb explosion hit two passenger buses in the Somali capital Mogadishu, officials and witnesses said.

The explosion ripped through the buses as they plied the only road connecting the divided city and is used by Somali government forces as well as the African Union peacekeeping forces in Mogadishu, Xinhua reported.

“We counted fifteen dead people on both buses and the 30 or so injured people were taken to hospitals in Mogadishu,” Nur Hassan, a commander of Somali government forces based in a nearby control post said.

Although no group has so far claimed responsibility for the explosion, the security officer accused the Islamist rebel groups opposed to the government of being behind bomb explosion, saying the groups do not “differentiate between civilians and combatants”.

The area where the explosion occurred is the centre of a number of bases of AU peacekeepers and Somali government forces.

The Islamist group of Al Shabaab last week declared an all-out war against the Somali government forces and AU peacekeeping troops based in Mogadishu and the group has since been launching relentless attacks on targets of the government and AU forces.