By Abdel-Qader Foudi

MOGADISHU

 At least 25 people were killed in a suicide bombing that targeted African peacekeepers in Somali capital Mogadishu on Monday, security sources and eyewitnesses said.

"A car laden with explosives rammed into two convoys of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in northwestern Mogadishu," a security source told Anadolu Agency.

It remains unclear whether those killed were civilians or African peacekeepers.

At least another 30 people were injured in the attack, for which the Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab group has since claimed responsibility.

Wednesday's attack was the first of its kind since Al-Shabaab commander Ahmed Abdi Godane was killed last week in a U.S. drone strike.

In the wake of Godane's death, Al-Shabaab threatened to carry out retaliatory attacks on state institutions across the country.

Established in 2004, Al-Shabaab has battled the government for control of territory throughout Somalia.

The Somali government and African troops have launched a massive military operation against Al-Shabaab – dubbed "Operation Indian Ocean" – which has cost the militant group most of its strongholds, except for the port of Barawe.

The port is believed to be Al-Shabaab's main source of revenue, generating millions of dollars from the illegal sale of charcoal to the Middle East.

Somalia, a long-troubled country in the Horn of Africa, has remained in the grip of on-again, off-again violence since the outbreak of civil war in 1991.

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