MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A loud explosion was heard near the center of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Friday, followed by prolonged heavy bursts of gunfire, a Reuters witness said.
The city has been hit by a series of suicide bomb attacks in the past few weeks, claimed by al Qaeda-linked militants, al Shabaab, who were pushed out of the city about two years go but have waged a sustained guerrilla campaign.
(Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Alison Williams)