Suicide bomb reported in Somalia capital

A suspected suicide car bomb exploded at the gate of a hotel in the Somali capital on Sunday, a police officer said, as a plume of smoke rose above the capital and sporadic gunfire was heard.

Police said it was too early to know about casualties, but a Reuters witness said blood and pieces of flesh were spattered in the area. At least one person was carried away, apparently dead.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the Islamist militant group al Shabaab frequently launches bomb and gun attacks against officials and others in the capital in its bid to topple Somalia’s Western-backed government.

“A suicide car bomb exploded at the gate of Jazeera Hotel,” Major Nur Osoble, a police officer, told Reuters, adding it was too early to know if there were any casualties.

The Jazeera hotel has been targeted in recent years. The facade of the hotel was damaged and four wrecked cars were nearby, a Reuters witness said. Ambulances sirens wailed.

Al Shabaab, which wants to impose its strict interpretation of Islam on a nation that is trying to rebuild after two decades of war, killed a three people in two attacks on Saturday.

The victims of Saturday’s attack was a lawmaker, his bodyguard and an official from the prime minister’s office.