Turkish nationals among four dead in Somalia bombing

MOGADISHU: Two Turkish nationals were among four people killed on Saturday in a suicide bombing outside the Somali capital Mogadishu claimed by the Al-Shabaab militant group, officials said.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 14 others wounded in the blast, including three Turks, were being treated at a Turkish-run hospital in Mogadishu.

The attack targeted employees of a Turkish company building a road between Mogadishu and Afgoye, a town about 25 kilometres (15 miles) west of the capital, officials from both countries said.

"The number of our nationals who lost their lives in the terror attack in Somalia has increased to two," Koca said, adding the lives of the wounded Turks were not in danger.

The two others killed in the assault were Somali special police, said Mohamed Ibrahim, a police officer in Afgoye.