Death toll in Mogadishu police academy attack rises to 18

MOGADISHU, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- At least 18 police officers were killed and 15 others injured in a suicide bombing early Thursday at a police academy in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, police said.

The bomber detonated his suicide vest when the officers were having breakfast, contrary to earlier reports the officers were already conducting parade exercise.

"The bomber was in police uniform and detonated the bomb when the officers were having breakfast," acting police chief Muktar Hussein Afrah told journalists.

State minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Abdullahi Hamud also confirmed the police had identified the bomber and will release his details after concluding investigations.

The militant group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility of the attack, which came two months after the Oct. 14 truck bombing in a busy junction in Mogadishu killing 512 people and injuring more than 300 others.

The insurgents behind a series of attacks in the Horn of Africa nation said they killed 27 police officers and injured more.

The militant group frequently exaggerates the number of people they killed or injured.

The group did not claim responsibility for the Oct. 14 attack. The government here also announced it would postpone an inter-state tournament scheduled for today to mourn the departed officers.

Chief Major Gen. Abdiweli Jama Warsame called on the military to remain vigilant following the attack. "I call on all the Somali National Army to remain vigilant and ensure we do not have such attacks again," said Warsame. Enditem