Suicide bomber targets troop convoy in Somalia

A suicide car bomber blew himself up near a moving convoy of Somalia's Alpha Group, U.S.-trained elite forces, in Mogadishu, killing at least four people, a Somali police officer said Sunday.

Somali militant group Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the group's Radio Andulus.

The attack on the airport road in the capital killed mostly pedestrians walking along the road, said Capt. Mohamed Hussein.

Mohamed Yusuf, the spokesman for Somalia's National Security Ministry, said that the government had information about the attack and that the car bomb was detonated while the attacker was being pursued.

"We shall continue preventing such attacks. However, we ask people to work with us," he told reporters in Mogadishu.

The Alpha Group is part of Somalia's intelligence force and often carries out operations against militants in Somalia.

Al-Shabab is an armed group that is linked to Al-Qaeda and wants to run Somalia by its strict interpretation of Shariah. Despite suffering huge losses in recent years, including the killing of its leader in a U.S. airstrike last month, Al-Shabab remains a threat. Al-Shabab leader Ahmed Godane was killed in a U.S. airstrike in September.

African Union troops supporting Somalia's weak army have pushed Al-Shabab from major strongholds, including Mogadishu in 2011. However, Al-Shabab fighters still carry out attacks in Somalia's capital and in neighboring countries that have contributed troops to the African Union force in Somalia.

On Dec. 25, 2014, Al-Shabab gunmen attacked the main African Union base in Mogadishu. The base hosts embassies and United Nations offices.

Sunday's blast comes days after a U.S. airstrike killed Al-Shabab's intelligence chief, Abdishakur Tahlil.

Somalia's government is struggling to rebuild the country after decades of conflict sparked of by the 1991 ouster of dictator Siad Barre.

Associated Press