AT least three women were killed and seven others wounded in the Somali capital Mogadishu today when a remotely detonated bomb exploded in a busy market.

The women killed in the blast were city workers, who had been cleaning the streets when a bomb hidden in a rubbish pit exploded in the busy Hodan market district.

“We heard a big blast and then I could see the old mothers who were cleaning the scene lying there, some of them dead and others screaming,” said local resident Nuria Ahmed.

“The bomb was wrapped in a big, black plastic bag and then placed inside the rubbish along the Taleh street

“I counted three dead and seven others injured. I was the first person who arrived for help. 

“It is very unfortunate if mothers are now the target.”

In recent weeks, Islamist extremist al-Shabaab fighters have increased gun and bomb attacks in Mogadishu.