At least 100 people were killed in two car bombings at a busy junction in the capital, Somalia’s president said, and the toll could rise in the country’s deadliest attack since a truck bombing at the same spot five years ago killed more than 500.
At the scene of Saturday’s (local time) bombings in Mogadishu, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud informed journalists that almost 300 additional people had been hurt.
We can’t transport all the victims outside the nation for treatment, therefore we beg our international allies and Muslims all over the world to send their medical professionals here, he said.
The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group, which often targets the capital and controls large parts of the country, claimed responsibility, saying its objective was to hit the education ministry.
It stated that the ministry was a “enemy base” that was “dedicated to pulling Somali children from the Islamic faith” and that it was supported by non-Muslim nations.
Al-Shabab usually doesn’t make claims of responsibility when large numbers of civilians are killed, which was the case in an October 2017 blast at the same site, but it has been angered by a high-profile new offensive by the government that aims to shut down its financial network.
The group urged civilians to avoid government buildings and declared that it is committed to fighting until Islamic law is implemented nationwide.
It was not immediately obvious how explosives-laden cars once more managed to pass through a city that was heavily fortified with checkpoints and on continual watch for attacks.
The country is still at war with al-Shabab, according to Somalia’s newly elected president, and “we are winning.”
When the president, prime minister, and other senior officials met to discuss stepping up efforts to combat violent extremism, particularly al-Shabab, the incident in Mogadishu took place.
By executing famous clan leaders in response to the offensive, the fanatics appear to be trying to discourage popular support.
The attack has overwhelmed first responders in Somalia, which has one of the world’s weakest health systems after decades of conflict.
Frenetic family members searched body bags and plastic sheets at hospitals and other locations for their loved ones.
Abdullahi Jama, Halima Duwane’s uncle, was missing.
She sobbed as she continued, “We don’t know if he’s alive or dead, but he was near here the last time we spoke.
Those who saw the attack were in awe.
Witness Abdirazak Hassan claimed, “I couldn’t count the bodies on the ground due to the (number of) casualties.”
He claimed that the initial explosion struck the education ministry’s outer wall, which housed street sellers and money changers.
The second explosion, according to a reporter from the Associated Press who was on the site, happened during noon in front of a popular restaurant. In a location with several restaurants and hotels, the blasts destroyed tuk-tuks and other cars.
One journalist was killed and two others were injured by the second blast while going to the scene of the first, according to the Somali Journalists Syndicate, citing coworkers and police. According to the Aamin ambulance service, one of its response cars was destroyed in the second bomb.
Al-Shabab has been identified by the United States as one of al-deadliest Qaida’s organisations, and it has recently been the target of numerous airstrikes.
Following their withdrawal under former President Donald Trump, hundreds of US military personnel have returned to the nation.
100 dead from vehicle bombings in Somalia, according to the president
About Author
