Police: Suicide bomb attack on African Union troop convoy in Somali capital kills at least 2

MOGADISHU, Somalia – A police official says a suicide bomber detonated his explosives near a moving convoy of African Union troops in Somalia’s capital, killing himself and at least two others.

Mogadishu police official Mohamed Abdi said Friday the dead were civilians passing by, but he did not yet know if any soldiers were wounded in the attack near Mogadishu’s international airport.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack, but the al-Qaida-linked rebels of al-Shabab frequently stage similar attacks in Mogadishu.

African Union forces expelled al-Shabab from Mogadishu in August 2011, but they still hold sway in large parts of rural southern Somalia and retain the ability to stage lethal attacks even in Mogadishu.