Suicide bomber detonates near Somalia’s presidential palace

Hassan Barise/AP

4 years ago

A man walks past wreckage at the scene of a bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. Police say a suicide bomber died and a number of civilians were wounded when a vehicle exploded near a checkpoint outside the presidential palace in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Police say a suicide bomber died and seven civilians were wounded when a vehicle exploded near a checkpoint outside the presidential palace in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.

A police spokesman says the driver defied orders to stop on Saturday morning, and police opened fire as passersby ran for their lives. He says more than a dozen vehicles were destroyed in the blast.

The bombing occurred as Somali politicians argue over how to hold a delayed national election once set for Feb. 8. Some argue that the president has overstayed his mandate.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group has threatened to attack the polls.

People walk past wreckage at the scene of a bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. Police say a suicide bomber died and a number of civilians were wounded when a vehicle exploded near a checkpoint outside the presidential palace in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

A woman who was wounded in a bombing is stretchered into a hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. Police say a suicide bomber died and a number of civilians were wounded when a vehicle exploded near a checkpoint outside the presidential palace in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

A man helps a civilian who was wounded in a bombing, outside a hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. Police say a suicide bomber died and a number of civilians were wounded when a vehicle exploded near a checkpoint outside the presidential palace in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

A civilian man who was wounded in a bombing is stretchered into a hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. Police say a suicide bomber died and a number of civilians were wounded when a vehicle exploded near a checkpoint outside the presidential palace in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)