Al-Shabaab claims suicide bombing that kills 18 in Somalia
The attack in Mogadishu targeted police officials
An Islamic extremist suicide bomber disguised as a police officer killed at least 18 and injured 20 at a police academy in Somalia's capital on Thursday, police said.
Col. Mohamud Aden said 20 other officers were wounded, some of them seriously.
The bomber, with explosives strapped around his waist and torso, infiltrated Gen. Kahiye Police Academy and targeted officers gathering for special morning exercises, Capt. Mohamed Hussein said. The officers were rehearsing for Somalia's Police Day celebrations scheduled for Dec. 20, Hussein said.
The bomber walked into the police academy undetected and joined a long line of officers in the rehearsal parade before he detonated the explosives under his sportswear, Hussein said.
"He detonated his bomb vest having realized that his presence had drawn suspicion among officers in the queue."
Bombing follows recent U.S. drone strike
Police officer Farah Omar, who was at the scene at the time of the blast, said the bomber targeted a spot where dozens of soldiers had gathered.
"He wanted to inflict a maximum damage," said Omar.
A relative of one victim said he had recently joined the academy. "He wanted to do something for his country, but today we are burying him," Abdifatah Ahmed said.
The Somalia-based al-Shabaab extremist group quickly claimed responsibility for the attack. Al-Shabaab, which is allied to al-Qaeda, carries out frequent bombings and attacks against hotels, checkpoints and other high-profile areas of Mogadishu.
Al-Shabaab has been blamed for the massive truck bombing in the capital in October that left 512 dead.
Al-Shabaab has become the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa and is increasingly targeted by the U.S. military after the Trump administration early this year approved expanded airstrikes and other efforts against the fighters.
The U.S. has carried out at least 32 drone strikes this year against al-Shabaab and a small but growing number of fighters linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Many of them are defectors from al-Shabaab.
A drone strike earlier this week against an al-Shabaab vehicle carrying explosives prevented an "imminent threat to the people of Mogadishu," the U.S. Africa Command said.