Four dead in Shabaab car bombing near Somali capital

MOGADISHU — Four people were killed in a car bombing in Somalia on Saturday that apparently targeted Turkish engineers working on a road near the capital Mogadishu, police and witnesses said.

The attack was claimed by the Al Qaeda-linked militant group Al Shabaab, which has stepped up its activities in Somalia and neighbouring Kenya in recent weeks.

The bomb struck near the town of Afgoye about 30 kilometres west of the capital, killing four people and wounding several others including several Turkish nationals, said local police officer Abdirahman Adan.

"The blast was huge, it destroyed a container used by the Turkish engineers who work on the Afgoye road construction," said witness Muhidin Yusuf.

"There were police who were guarding the Turkish engineers and several other people gathering near the checkpoint where the temporary shelter is located," said another witness Ahmed Said.

"I saw the dead bodies of several [people] and Turkish workers who were wounded in the blast."

The group, which has fought for more than a decade to topple the Somali government, has carried out a series of attacks in recent weeks including a massive car bombing in Mogadishu on December 28 that killed 81 people.

On January 5, the fighting militants stormed a military base used by US forces in Kenya's coastal Lamu region, killing three Americans.