Blasts in Somalia's capital Mogadishu kill at least 10, says residents

A general view shows people at the scene of a suicide car explosion at a check point near Somali Parliament building in Mogadishu, Somalia June 15, 2019 (credit: FEISAL OMAR/REUTERS)

Several blasts at a popular open-air market in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, killed at least ten people and left many others injured on Tuesday, residents told Reuters.

"I have counted ten dead people and 15 others injured. My shop is destroyed. The blasts took place in four places in the center of the market," Hassan Ali, a trader at the Bakara market, told Reuters.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the blasts, but Islamist group al Shabaab frequently carries out bombings in Somalia and elsewhere. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the blasts, but Islamist group al Shabaab frequently carries out bombings in Somalia and elsewhere.

The government was not immediately available for comment.

Bakara, Mogadishu's largest market, teems with traders and is where most residents buy their food, clothes, medicine, electronics, and other items daily.

Residents told Reuters several blasts went off, destroying many shops. Three nurses at Erdogan Hospital in Mogadishu told Reuters over 20 injured people had been brought to the facility.

Al Shabaab has been battling Somalia's federal government and an African Union (AU)--mandated peacekeeping force for years seeking to establish a new government based on its interpretation of Sharia law.