Al-Shabaab kills five in Somali attacks

FIVE soldiers and police were killed and a dozen others were wounded in bomb and gun attacks by Islamist militants in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, yesterday.

An injured Somali man is treated at Darul-Shifa hospital after he was wounded by a car bomb which exploded near the parliament. Picture: AP

Al-Shabaab fighters, who have threatened to step up attacks during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, claimed the suicide car bomb that killed two soldiers guarding the Somali parliament.

“This is our second attack against the parliament and we shall continue it,” said Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabaab’s spokesman.

Police said soldiers guarding the parliament had prevented the bomb reaching its target.

The al-Qaeda-affiliate killed a politician and his bodyguard in an attack on Thursday, accusing them of collaborating with “Christians” – western powers and the African Union.

In February, al-Shabaab militants attacked the nearby presidential palace killing at least 16 people.

Al-Shabaab, whose name means “The Youth” in Arabic, wants an Islamic state established in Somalia.