Wednesday May 22, 2019
An explosion near Somalia's old parliament in Mogadishu sent a pile of smoke and dust billowing into the sky on Wednesday, local news outlets reported.
The blast is in the southeast of the city, in Mogadishu's old part of town, near the coast, according to a member of Somalia's parliament.
Abdirizak Mohamed, the former Minister of Internal Security and a sitting MP, said two MPs fleeing the explosion sought shelter in his house. One of them lost a member of staff and another was taken to hospital, he wrote on Twitter.Somalia's old parliament building is opposite the "Monument of the Unknown Soldier" where other reports said the blast took place.
Pictures show the aftermath of a blast, with smoke rising high into the capital.
It is not clear who is responsible for the bombing and there has been no official confirmation.
Car bombs and suicide attacks are a relatively frequent occurrence in Mogadishu, which is battling an insurgency from militant group Al Shabab, with the help of an international task force.
Attacks often target ministeries or hotels in the Somali capital.