Mogadishu 'suicide car bomb kills Somali police'

Mogadishu 'suicide car bomb kills Somali police'

At least five people, including a Somali policeman, have been killed as a car exploded while it was being searched in Mogadishu, sources say.

Police officers stopped the car in the busy K4 junction of the capital.

Police have confirmed the deaths of an officer, a civilian and the driver, who had allegedly set off the explosives.

Islamist militant group al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaeda, has staged several suicide attacks in Mogadishu as it battles the UN-backed government.

Meanwhile, Kenya says more than 40 al-Shabab fighters and 11 Somali soldiers were killed in a battle in the southern town of Hawo, near Afmadow, at the weekend.

There is no independent confirmation of the Kenyan claims.

Kenya has sent troops into Somalia to tackle al-Shabab, after accusing the militants of a spate of kidnappings - charges it denies. more