Blast kills five women in Somali capital-witnesses

MOGADISHU, Jun 26 (Reuters) A suspected bomb blast killed five women outside a busy market in the Somali capital Mogadishu today, witnesses said.

Residents said an explosive device was apparently detonated by the burning of garbage by cleaners in the city's central Howlwadag area.

''Five died, I could not count the wounded. They were all women who were cleaning the streets,'' said Hawa Ibrahim, a cleaner who witnessed the blast.

Hawa Jama, a businesswoman, said she saw dead women and others who were wounded. ''It was an ugly scene with blood everywhere. I could not count the dead, I just glanced at once and ran away for my life,'' she told Reuters.

The seaside capital has been hit by near-daily insurgent attacks targeting government troops and their Ethiopian military allies that are blamed on an ousted Islamist movement.

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