At Least Four Killed After Somalia Attack

It is the second attack of its kind this month (library picture).

At least four people have died after a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the gate of a district headquarters in Mogadishu.

Somali police said the large blast badly damaged the compound of the Hodan district's headquarters.

Police captain Mohamed Hussein said seven other people were wounded, and most of the victims were district workers and soldiers.

It is the second such attack on a district headquarters in the Somalian capital this month.

Britain currently has troops deployed in Somalia and last year, Forces News joined British paratroopers in Mogadishu protecting a small European Union training team.

Personnel are also working at the UK-led Baidoa Security Training Centre, providing training to the Somalian National Army.

British personnel at the centre have been providing training since January 2017 and has seen 500 people graduate.

In Mogadishu, the Howlwadag district headquarters was targeted on 2 September with at least six people killed, including two children(library picture).

The al Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group often claims responsibility.

The Somalia-based group often targets the capital with bombings, including a truck blast last October that left at least 512 people dead.

Somali troops are meant to take over the Horn of Africa nation's security in the coming years from an African Union force, but concerns about their readiness remain high.

The UN Security Council recently voted to delay the reduction of troops in the African Union force from October to February and the target date to hand over security to Somali forces to December 2021.