The police were gathered in a square before their early morning parade when the bomber attacked in the capital Mogadishu.

Al-Shabaab called the attack a martyrdom operation.

A statement on its website put the death toll at 27.

The terror organization has been fighting for a decade to overthrow Somalia’s internationally backed government.

The attacker disguised himself in a police uniform to access the camp.

The toll could have been far worse had the attacker detonated his bomb in the centre of the crowd.

Police have attended the funerals of some of their colleagues killed in the attack.

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