24Feb - Blackwater Mogadishu bombings continue, kill 34

[TonyGosling]

Somalia al-Shabab: Deadly double car bombing near presidential palace
24 February 2018
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-43177348

For proof it was likely Blackwater/Xe/Prince see
Sat14Oct MOGADISHU Somalia bomb, 300 dead 500 injured
http://www.911forum.org.uk/board/viewtopic.php?p=176365#176365
Blackwater in Somalia?
Reuters reports a spokesperson from the Islamist Al-Shabaab group in Somalia claiming that the US mercenary group Blackwater/Xe Services is in Somalia, is recruiting and is planning a series of spectacular terrorist attacks against civilians to discredit his movement in Mogadishu.
http://www.pravdareport.com/hotspots/conflicts/13-01-2010/111632-black water-0/#comments

The attack was claimed by Islamist militants
Two car-bomb attacks have killed at least 38 people in the Somali capital Mogadishu, officials say.
The first took place outside the presidential palace late on Friday. The second hit a nearby hotel. Dozens of people were wounded.
The Islamist militant group al-Shabab, which has been trying to oust Somalia's government, says it was behind both.
A gun battle followed the attack near the presidential palace in which five militants were killed, officials say.
Friday's bombings are the latest in a series of attacks attributed to al-Shabab, which once controlled Mogadishu before being forced out by African Union troops in 2011.
Who are Somalia's al-Shabab?
Somalia profile
Last October, more than 500 people were killed by a truck bomb in the city. Officials blamed al-Shabab but the group never said it was behind that attack.
A wounded civilian receives medical treatment at the Madina Hospital after he was injured during an explosion near the presidential palace in Mogadishu, Somalia, 23 February 2018Image copyrightREUTERS
Image caption
Injured civilians were taken to hospital
The latest incident began when a vehicle failed to stop at a checkpoint outside the presidential palace before being blown up, state media say. This was followed by an exchange of fire between militants and security forces.
Then a parked car exploded near the hotel. However, al-Shabab said it had targeted security forces.
The group said five of its fighters, including the two drivers, had been "martyred" and 35 soldiers were killed in the attacks.
A police spokesman told Reuters news agency: "There were many military soldiers who guarded the street adjacent to the palace."