In a suicide bombing by Islamic extremist group Al Shabaab, at least 11 people were killed in Nairobi outside the residence of appeals court chief Judge Abshir Omar. While according to the police, assassinating the judge might have been the end goal, the group says that a Mogadishu hotel was the intended target.
Security forces stationed outside the judge's house fought off gunmen who tried to force their way inside, police officer Mohamed Hussein said.
More than 35 were wounded in the attack, said Hussein, who raised the death toll to 11.
Mogadishu is regularly targeted by the Shabaab fighters in their long fight to topple the government.
Four gunmen, who were on foot opened fire at nearby buildings and business, shortly after the blast, sparking clashes with security forces stationed nearby and hotel guards, he said. According to witnesses, a blast ripped off part of roof of Omar's house. The area was crowded as it was evening and many people were relaxing after a day at work.
Shopkeeper Ahmed Mohamed, a witness and area resident Fatima Nur, reported hearing gunfire after the explosion and said smoke billowed from the site of the attack.
Al-Shabab, which is considered the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The al-Qaida-linked group said the Maka Almukarramah hotel, not the judge's house nearby, was the intended target.
Dozens of cars were on fire along Maka Almukarramah Road, which is in a busy part of Mogadishu where restaurants and hotels are located.
The hotel Maka Almukarramah has been targetted by Al-Shabab multiple times in the past, including a March 2015 attack in which at least 18 people died.
The hotel is frequently patronised by government officials.
Many of victims of Thursday's attack suffered horrific injuries and local hospitals were said to be struggling to cope with causalities.
The militant group, that wanted to impose sharia law opposes Somalia's federal government has carried out many deadly attacks inside Somalia and other places in the region, including in neighbouring Kenya. Al Shabab was also behind the deadliest attack in Somalia's history, a massive truck bombing that killed well over 500 people in Mogadishu in October 2017 and an attack in January on a Nairobi hotel that killed 21 people.
The US has carried out 50 airstrikes in Somalia against the extremist group in 2018.
This year, US strikes targeting al-Shabab fighters have come at an even faster pace.
The military command in Africa reported 23 as of Tuesday, including one in central Somalia that killed 20 militants and another the day before that killed 35.
