Mogadishu: Seven civilians sustained injuries after a suicide bomber detonated explosives near a checkpoint outside the presidential palace in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.
The driver defied orders to stop on Saturday morning, and police opened fire as passersby ran for their lives, said Police spokesman Sadiq Ali Adan.
More than a dozen of vehicles were destroyed in the blast, the police added.
This latest bombing occurred as Somali politicians argue over how to hold a national election.
The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group based in Somalia often targets high-profile areas of Mogadishu. It has threatened to attack the polls.
