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Car blast kills 16 at police station in Somalia's capital

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - A suicide car bomber killed at least 16 people and injured nine others at a police station in the Somalia capital, a Somali police official said Sunday.

The attack early Sunday targeted a police station adjacent to Mogadishu port, said Capt. Mohamed Hussein.

At the blast scene, medical workers carried bodies burned beyond recognition to ambulances. Human limbs and bloodied shoes were scattered across the blast scene.

Most of the victims are port workers and police officers.

Somalia's Islamic extremist rebels, Al-Shabab, claimed responsibility for the attack, the second blast in the seaside capital in two days. The insurgents said they had killed "apostates" in the attack, according to the group's Andalus radio.

On Saturday, a suspected suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a security checkpoint near Mogadishu when soldiers stopped him for security checks.

Despite being ousted from most of its key strongholds in Somalia, al-Shabab still launches deadly attacks across large parts of south and central Somalia.

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