At least 10 people have died from a suicide bombing attack on Somalia Police Academy by the Islamic extremist – Al-Shabab in Somalia’s capital on Thursday.

According to Capt. Mohamed Hussein, the bomber, with the explosives strapped around his chest and waist, ran into the Kahiye Police Academy straight to the officers who were gathering for the morning exercise.

The officers were rehearsing at Somalia police academy for the annual event of Somalia’s Police Day celebrations scheduled for Dec. 20, Hussein said. The Somalia-based Al-Shabab extremist group quickly claimed responsibility for the attack. Al-Shabab, which is allied to Al-Qaida, carries out frequent bombings and attacks against hotels, checkpoints and other high-profile areas of Mogadishu (The Capital of Somalia)

Al-Shabab Claims Responsibility for Somalia Police Academy Bombing

Somalia’s militant group Al-Shabab has been blamed for the massive truck bombing in the capital in October that left 512 dead. Only a few attacks since 9/11 have killed more people.

Al-Shabab has converted itself into the deadliest Islamic extremist group in the African continent. The Islamist group has been massively targeted by the US security forces under the new Trump administration. The US has been targeting the group relentlessly this year with extensive airstrikes and counter-terror measures.

Mogadishu Bomb Blast Toll Reaches 230

The U.S. has carried out at least 32 drone strikes this year against Al-Shabab and a small but growing number of fighters linked to the Islamic State group, many of them defectors from al-Shabab.

A drone strike earlier this week against an Al-Shabab vehicle carrying explosives prevented an “imminent threat to the people of Mogadishu,” the U.S. African Command said. Al Shabaab is keen on waging an insurgency against the African countries in a bid to topple the weak administration and impose its own strict interpretation of Islam.

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