Two car bombs explode in Somali capital and kill 18 people

A security officer from Doorbin Hotel assesses the debris after a suicide car explosion in front of the hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia. (Courtesy)

Twin car bombs killed 18 people in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Friday in an attack by the Islamist militant group al Shabaab, but security forces shot dead five assailants, officials said.

Shooting broke out near the president’s residence at the time of the explosions, police and ambulance services said.