MOGADISHU, Somalia — A car bomb killed at least nine people Tuesday and wounded many others at a restaurant in Somalia’s capital, police said.
Security forces secured the area around the Banoda restaurant after the attack, said a senior police officer, Mohamed Abdi. The car was parked near Somalia’s heavily guarded presidential palace when it exploded, he said.
Although no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, it bears the hallmarks of Somalia’s Islamic extremist group Al Shabab, which frequently carries out attacks in Mogadishu and throughout Somalia.
In another attack, seven people were killed Monday when a bomb planted in a UN van exploded in the northern area of Puntland, a semiautonomous region that is normally peaceful. Four UN staff members working to help Somali children were among those killed, the UN children’s agency said Tuesday.
Al Shabab, which is allied with Al Qaeda, appears to be stepping up attacks in Somalia and across borders even as it loses ground inside Somalia.