Bomb blast hits UN convoy in Mogadishu; 3 dead

Hargaeisa, Somalia (Vlad Galenko / Shutterstock)

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a U.N. convoy near Mogadishu’s airport on Wednesday, killing three people, Somali police said.

“The car bomb hit near the front gate of the Mogadishu airport. Several people, including an army officer, (were) killed after he tried to stop the vehicle,” said police spokesman Kasim Ahmed Roble.

Yusuf Haji, a resident in the area, said soldiers fired at pedestrians after the blast.

The militant group al-Shabab frequently carries out suicide blasts and gunfire attacks in Mogadishu. The group has also claimed responsibility for two gruesome and deadly attacks against Kenyan civilians near the Kenya-Somali border over the last two weeks.