Explosion rocks Somali capital Mogadishu

Mogadishu: A huge explosion rocked Somalia’s capital Mogadishu Thursday, triggering a plume of smoke which rose from the blast site amid gunfire.

The blast occurred near the K4 junction in the heart of Mogadishu and was so intense that it collapsed the walls of nearby schools—leaving cars mangled. 

“We were shaken by the blast pressure, then deafened by the gunfire that followed,” an eye witness, a nurse in nearby hospital said.

He added he had been pulled from the rubble of a collapsed ceiling. 

“Our hospital walls collapsed. Opposite us is a school that also collapsed. I do not know how many died,” he said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but a group al Shabaab frequently carries out bombings in the Horn of Africa country.

Moreover, security officials could not be immediately reached for comment on what triggered the explosion and the casualties.