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Car bomb in Somalia kills at least 30

By Allen Cone
People inspect the scene of an explosion by a car bomb in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Sunday. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack but the militant group al-Shabab has carried out similar attacks in the capital. Photo by Yusuf Warsame/EPA
People inspect the scene of an explosion by a car bomb in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Sunday. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack but the militant group al-Shabab has carried out similar attacks in the capital. Photo by Yusuf Warsame/EPA

Feb. 19 (UPI) -- A car bomb exploded at a market in Mogadishu, Somalia, killing at least 30 people and injuring more than 50 Sunday, police and hospital officials said.

The blast at the Kawo-Godey market in Mogadishu's Wadajir district killed civilians and soldiers, a senior police officer told CNN.

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No group has claimed responsibility for the blast in the eastern African nation but the militant group al-Shabab has carried out similar attacks in the capital.

Abdifitah Omar Halane, spokesman for the Mogadishu mayor, said the bomber was driving a Toyota Harrier vehicle that contained explosives.

"The aim of the attack was to massacre the innocent civilians at the crowded market," Halane added.

The attack was the first in the capital since Abdullahi Farmajo, a Somali-American citizen from Buffalo, N.Y., was elected president on Feb. 8.

On Saturday, Sheikh Hassan Yaqub, a senior al-Shabab commander, said that anyone collaborating with the new president would risk being attacked.

Troops from the African Union forced al-Shabab out of Mogadishu in 2011.

On Jan. 25, at least 28 people were killed in a bomb attack by militants at the Dayah hotel in Mogadishu.

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