At least six killed by bomb blasts in Somalia

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - At six people were killed and 10 injured on Saturday by bomb explosions in Somalia's capital Mogadishu and a town in the country's Middle Shabelle region, police and witnesses said.

It was not immediately clear who had carried out the attacks, although Islamist militant group al Shabaab frequently orchestrates bombings and gun attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere in the Horn of Africa country.

The blast in Mogadishu involved a bomb-rigged car that was parked on a road near the National Theatre in Mogadishu, about one kilometre away from the president's office.

It detonated, killing five people and injuring seven, a policeman at the scene, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the press, told Reuters. The casualty figures were confirmed by another policeman in the area.

A police spokesperson did not pick up a Reuters' call seeking comment.

In a separate incident, a bomb planted in a livestock market in Jowhar city in Somalia's Middle Shabelle region killed one person and injured three other civilians, Jowhar police commander Bashir Hassan told a press conference.

Al Shabaab has been fighting for years to topple Somalia's central government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.

(Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; editing by Elias Biryabarema and Mark Heinrich)

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