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the personification of Somali state failure...myrmidon group, which often targets Mogadishu, grabbed credit for the attack.
Those killed include three staffers from the London-based Universal TV station, including prominent journalist Awil Dahir Salad, said police Capt. Mohammed Hussein, who gave the toll of dead and maimed.
The bomber targeted the checkpoint near the rear entrance of the heavily fortified palace, Hussein said. A politician and a deputy mayor of Mogadishu were among those maimed, he said.
Soldiers also were among the dead, Col. Ahmed Mohamud said.
The blast and a second, smaller one nearby appeared to target those heading to work on what was a business day in the Horn of Africa nation.
A plume of smoke rose over the capital as ambulances rushed to the scene.
"At first I saw a vehicle driving to and fro, then we tried to stop people walking here and there, and then in the blink of an eye the vehicle went
kaboom!, causing havoc," traffic police officer Mohammed Harun told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.