At least 16 people were injured on Tuesday in a grenade attack on a busy market in Wadajir district, southwest of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, a local official said.
Mogadishu’s Wadajir District Commissioner, Somalia, Ahmed Abdulle Afrah, told Xinhua the assault targeted innocent civilians at the Madina market.
He was speaking from a hospital where some of the injured were being treated.
“Sixteen civilians including women and children were injured in the blast. Six people are still hospitalized while 10 others were treated and discharged,” Afrah said, adding that no soldiers were wounded.
Spokesman for the Ministry of Internal Security, Abdikamil Moalim Shukri, told Xinhua that security forces were pursuing the attackers.
The attack came as Somalis are busy shopping ahead of the Eid festivities, which will be celebrated on Wednesday.
No group has claimed the responsibility for the attack, but Somalia’s Islamist group Al-Shabaab frequently stages attacks on hotels, markets, government buildings and military bases in the country.
