Six wounded in Mogadishu roadside blast

MOGADISHU (AFP) - A roadside bomb targeting a senior Somali police official wounded six people Tuesday in the south of Mogadishu, hours after the extremist Shebab rebels launched attacks in the city, witnesses said.

Mohamed Abdirahman Qasim, the deputy police chief of Mogadishu's southern Dharkinley district, escaped unhurt from the blast aimed at his vehicle.

"They wanted to get rid of me by planting a bomb by the roadside. It exploded as I was passing by the area but thank God I'm safe. Only two of my security guards were slightly injured," Qasim told reporters.

He did not say who was behind the attack.

Witnesses said at least six people were wounded in the explosion that came after a night of attacks in the war-torn Mogadishu by the Shebab militia, who abandoned their bases in the capital in August.

"I have seen at least six injured people, some of them soldiers being taken from the scene of the explosion. Two of them had been seriously injured," said Mohamed Adan, a witness.

Other residents also said around six people were wounded.

Mohamed Mohamud Saney, a colonel in the Somali army, told reporters that they repelled Shebab attacks in northern Mogadishu areas late on Monday.

"The violent elements waged desperate attacks but we repelled them, killing several of their fighters near the SOS hospital," Saney said.

"We have defeated Al Shebab ... They cannot regroup to wage huge offensives now."

Despite withdrawing from fixed positions in Mogadishu, the hardline militia have vowed to continue waging war against the Western-backed Somali government and the African Union troops protecting it.