Series Of Bomb Blasts Kill Nearly 20, Wound Dozens In Somalia's Capital - Reports

At least 17 people were killed and another 45 injured as a result of three consecutive explosions in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu, local media reported Friday, citing police.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2018) At least 17 people were killed and another 45 injured as a result of three consecutive explosions in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu, local media reported Friday, citing police.

The blasts took place in the KM4 area of the city, according to the Garowe Online news website.

The explosions of the car bombs occurred within 10 minutes near Hotel Hayaat, Sahafi Hotel and the headquarters of Somalia's Criminal Investigations Department (CID), the media added.

The security guards, government officials and CID officers killed four attackers, who attempted to storm the Hotel Sahafi after the blasts.

Al-Shabaab militants, who have sworn allegiance to the Al Qaeda terror group (banned in Russia), claimed responsibility for the attack.

Somalia has been engulfed in violence since the eruption of a civil war between clan-based armed factions in the early 1990s. Al-Shabaab staged numerous attacks across the country in an attempt to impose a radical version of Sharia law.