Somalia: Allah's finest, Al Shabaab car bomber, kills 11 people in Mogadishu

An injured man lies on the ground as Somali people assist after a suicide car bomb exploded near Muna Hotel, south of the capital of Mogadishu, February 8, 2012. A suicide car bomber killed at least 11 people on Wednesday near a hotel where lawmakers gather in the Somali capital, a sign of the fragile security situation in Mogadishu even after Islamist rebels pulled out last year. (Reuters Pictures)

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A suicide car bomber killed at least 11 people Wednesday near a hotel where lawmakers gather in the Somali capital, a sign of the fragile security situation in Mogadishu even after Islamist rebels pulled out last year.

Police officer Hassan Ali told Reuters the attacker rammed his vehicle into a cafe outside the Muna Hotel, in the heart of areas controlled by government and African Union forces and not far from the presidential palace.

Al Shabaab militants claimed responsibility. "We were behind the explosion at the Muna Hotel. We targeted legislators and government officials," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, spokesman for al Shabaab's military operations, told Reuters.

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