At least 8 killed in Mogadishu car bomb attack

A suspected suicide car bomb has killed at least 8 people when it exploded near a market in the Somali capital, Mogadishu on Saturday.

Witnesses say they saw several bodies at the scene of the blast which was near the vegetable market.

Ismail Mohamud an eyewitness said: “I can’t count all, but, I can tell that I have collected about 20 dead people with my hands, also, there have been other people collecting with me both dead and injured persons. The blast took place at a time when the market was very busy.”

Another witness Abukar Ahmed said; “A saleswoman here lost her leg in the blast, (and) about 20 people were injured and 17 others were killed.”

“I was around here when the blast occurred,” he added.

Medical sources however say the death toll could be as high as 30 even though it has not been officially confirmed. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Somalia is still battling an insurgency by the Islamist militant group al-Shaba even as it seeks to rebuild after more than two decades of conflict and chaos.

The latest attack comes as voting for parliamentary candidates is ongoing across the country.