A pair of explosions rocked Somalia’s capital and killed 11 people, the director of an ambulance service, the al-Shabab extremist group linked to al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

In addition to the 11 dead, one of the explosions, a car bomb, left 16 people wounded, some of them seriously, told the Associated Press the doctor Abdiqadir Aden, of the Aamin ambulance service.

He said that the car bomb exploded near the office of the Somali Parliament in Mogadishu, and that it was the attack that caused the most victims and damages.

Al Shabab, which often launches explosive attacks on the capital, said the aim of the attacks was to affect the first line of airport security checkpoints and the presidential palace.

The airport hosts several diplomatic offices and the palace is in the constant sight of Al Shabab.

The US military has greatly increased the number of air strikes against Al Shabab in the last two years in its attempt to limit the territory that controls the group in central and southern Somalia and stop the movement of combatants.

In a report by the United Nations Security Council that circulated last month, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres reported a strengthening of security operations “and a large number of air strikes against training bases and meeting points. of Al Shabab “, which is considered to have reduced their operational capacity and freedom of movement.

Guterres added that Somalia has made progress in creating an operational state after three decades of civil war, extremist attacks and famine, but warned that insecurity, political instability and corruption remain major challenges.