{A blast, possibly caused by a car bomb, went off near the international airport in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Wednesday where the United Nations and some Western embassies are based, a Reuters witness and a security official said.}
At least three people were killed in the explosion, which appeared to target a UN convoy just outside the airport, according to a police officer and a United Nations spokesman. None of the victims were UN staff members.
“The UN convoy was passing outside the airport. Three people died including a policeman and two Somalis who were bodyguards of the UN,” Ahmed Nur, a senior police officer told Reuters. He said 10 people were injured in the incident.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Somali Islamist group al Shabaab has often used car bombs in the past.
A security adviser, based at the airport, told Reuters by telephone there had been a suspected VBIED, or vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, without giving further details.
The airport has a tight security cordon and blast walls, and is used as a base for UN operations in Somalia. The airport area is also home to the British and Italian embassies.
The al Qaeda-linked group, which wants to impose its strict interpretation of Islamic law on Somalia, has launched a string of bomb and gun attacks in Mogadishu and other centres.
It has also escalated operations in neighbouring Kenya, where militants massacred 36 non-Muslim workers on Tuesday at a quarry on the border.
The group vowed to step up attacks after African Union and Somali troops launched an offensive this year that has driven the group from major strongholds, including its last major coastal base of Barawe in October.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, REUTERS)
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