(4 Jan 2015) A suicide car bomber blew himself up near a moving convoy of Somalia's US-trained elite forces in Mogadishu, killing at least four people, a Somali police officer said on Sunday.
Somali militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the group's Radio Andulus.
The attack on the airport road in the capital killed mostly pedestrians walking along the road, said Captain Mohamed Hussein.
Mohamed Yusuf, the spokesman of Somalia's National Security Ministry, said the government had information about the attack, and the car bomb was detonated while the attacker was being pursued.
The Alpha Group troops are part of Somalia's intelligence forces and often carry out operations against militants in Somalia.
African Union (AU) troops supporting Somalia's army have pushed al-Shabab from major strongholds, including Mogadishu in 2011.
However, al-Shabab fighters still carry out attacks in Somalia's capital and in neighbouring countries that have contributed troops to the African Union Mission to Somalia.
On Christmas day, al-Shabab gunmen attacked the main African Union base in Mogadishu.
The AU base hosts UN offices and embassies.
Sunday's blast comes days after a US airstrike killed al-Shabab's intelligence chief, Abdishakur Tahlil.
Somalia's government is struggling to rebuild the country after decades of conflict sparked of by the 1991 removal of dictator Siad Barre.
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