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Car bomb explodes outside hotel in Somali capital
A car bomb has exploded outside the gates of a hotel in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.
According to Reuters, the SYL Hotel was being used for a meeting between local police and officials from Turkey who are preparing for a visit from Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan tomorrow (Friday).
It is not yet know if there were any injuries or deaths as a result of the bomb.
The hotel is in tightly secured area near the city’s presidential palace.
Turkey has been heavily involved in rebuilding Somali’s infrastructure, including its port and airport, following the famine of 2011.
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advises against all travel to Somalia, including Somaliland except for the cities of Hargeisa and Berbera to which it advises against all but essential travel.
It warns there is a high threat from terrorism, including kidnapping, throughout Somalia, including Somaliland.
"Terrorist groups have made threats against westerners and those working for western organisations," it says.
"The FCO believes that there is a constant threat of terrorist attack in Mogadishu. The FCO also believes that terrorists continue to plan attacks against westerners in Somaliland."
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Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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