Car bomb kills at least 12 people in Somalia — police

MOGADISHU — A car bomb killed at least 12 people, including Somali soldiers and civilians, on Monday in a city that was once a stronghold of Al Qaeda-linked rebels, police said.

Baidoa — about 250km southwest of Mogadishu — was the second most important city for Al Shabaab insurgents after the port of Kismayu, before they were routed by Ethiopian troops in 2012.

“A car bomb killed 12 people including government forces and residents,” Captain Nur Aden, a police officer, told Reuters by telephone from Baidoa.

“The car bomb was targeted at the former governor of Bay region who was by then in a local bank opposite the cafeteria. His cars and others which were also parked there were destroyed. Some of his bodyguards were seriously injured. Most of the people who died were residents who were in the cafe.”

There was no immediate claim for the attack. Al Shabaab could not be reached for comment.