Five killed in Somalia car bomb blast

Mogadishu, May 3 (IANS) Five people, including a former government official, were killed and six others injured after a car bomb went off near a main junction in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, police and witnesses said.

The bomb was planted on the vehicle of Abdi Kafi Hilowle, former secretary of Mogadishu administration. It went off near the main K4 junction, killing Hilowle and two of his bodyguards besides two passers-by, Xinhua reported.

"Abdi Kafi and his bodyguards died as a result of the explosion which occurred apparently within the vehicle of the official" police officer Husen Ali said.

Officer Ali said that two civilian passers-by were also killed by the explosion. Witnesses said six more people, including students from a nearby school, were injured in the blast.

State Radio Mogadishu confirmed the death of Hilowle.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamist Al Shabaab fighters had threatened to target government officials and security forces as well as the African Union Peacekeeping Mission (AMISOM).

Al Shabaab had previously claimed responsibility for attacks on Somali government officials, including two lawmakers killed in Mogadishu last month.