8 Killed in Car Bomb Targeting UN Convoy Outside School in Somali Capital

At least eight people were killed and 17 injured, including 13 Somali school children, in a car bomb attack targeting a United Nations security convoy as it traveled past a school in the capital, Mogadishu. The Islamist Al-Shabab group claimed responsibility for the Thursday morning attack. It is not yet known if any UN personnel were killed in the attack. A private security company was escorting the convoy, according to The Associated Press, Emergency workers were sifting through the rubble of the school in the hours after the blast, which led to few casualties than would be expected because Thursday is the first day of the weekend in Somalia, a Muslim nation. Al-Shabab, which is linked to Al-Qaida, has been fighting to wrest control from the Somali government for many years. It seeks to impose Sharia, or religious Muslim law, on the country. African Union peacekeeping forces had been scheduled to withdraw from Somalia, but could extend its stay due to the unstable security situation. The country also is several months overdue for presidential elections, that could be held next year.