Carbomb Targets Turkish Delegation in Somalia

MOGADISHU—

A suicide car bomb exploded at the gate of a Mogadishu hotel where Turkish delegates were meeting on Thursday, a day ahead of a visit by their President Tayyip Erdogan to the Somali capital, police said.

At least two police officers were killed but none of the Turkish delegates were wounded in the attack which was claimed by Islamist al-Shabab rebels, said officials.

Erdogan would go ahead with his trip, a source at his office in Ankara told Reuters. Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said an investigation was under way to see if the delegation was deliberately targeted.

Al-Shabab, which has carried out attacks across east Africa including a 2013 raid on a Nairobi shopping mall that killed 67, claimed responsibility for the assault but did not mention the Turkish delegation or Erdogan.

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