The State of Qatar has expressed its strong condemnation and denunciation of the explosion that targeted the convoy of the Banadir Governorate Police Commander in the Somali capital Mogadishu, leading to deaths and injuries.

In a statement issued Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the State of Qatar's firm stance on rejecting violence and terrorism, regardless of the motives and reasons.

The statement expressed the State of Qatar's condolences to the families of the victims, and the government and people of Somalia, wishing the injured a speedy recovery. 

At least 8 killed in Mogadishu by suicide bomb targeting government convoy

A suicide car bomb targeting a government convoy exploded at a busy junction in Somalia's capital on Saturday, killing at least eight people, an eyewitness told Reuters.

Abdiasis Abu Musab, military operations spokesperson for the al-Qaida-linked militant group al-​Shabaab, told Reuters it was responsible for Saturday's attack. The group, which wants to overthrow the government and impose its strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law, frequently carries out such bombings.

The convoy was carrying senior police official Farhan Qarole, who survived the attack, the Somali government news agency reported.

"I have seen eight dead bodies at the scene including a woman," Hassan Sayid Ali, a driver of a three-wheeled motorised vehicle taxi, told Reuters at the scene of the blast at Banadir junction in Mogadishu.