At least five dead and 25 wounded in car bomb attack in Somalia

At least five people died and 25 were injured On Thursday, a car bomb exploded near a hotel in Mogadishu, ambulance services announced in the Somali capital.

A suicide of the insurgent group Al Shabab was responsible for the attacks, the last of several perpetrated by the group affiliated with Al Qaeda.

"Our teams have collected five dead and 25 wounded, but it's not the final balanceAbdukadir Abdirahman, director of the Aamin ambulance service, told AFP: "The teams are still working," he explained.

Mogadishu is often attacked by insurgents Al Shabab, who claimed that They were trying to kill senior officials who were staying at the Maka Al Mukarama hotel.

"There was a suicide bombing followed by a shootout, in which mujahideen fighters targeted Somali government officials and officials who were staying at the hotel, "said the group in a statement posted on a pro-Al Shabab website.

"There was a huge explosion of a car bomb on the road to Maka Al Maukarama"said police officer Mohamed Farah. "He destroyed a lot of companies and vehicles".

The explosion occurred in one of The busiest streets of the capitaland many people rested there after their day's work.

"The whole area was burning and I saw ambulances arriving in a hurry" said Abdisamed Mohamed, a witness. "There was also a shooting, but we do not know who shot."

A few minutes later, there was a second explosion in the regionbut his cause was not clear.

Al Shabab fighters were expelled from the Somali capital in 2011, and later other cities, by African Union troops present since 2007.

But they continue to be present in a good part of the country, mainly in rural areas, from where they are fighting against the authorities.