Somalia: At least 100 dead in twin car blasts
October 30, 2022
Two huge explosions rocked Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Saturday, police said.
Authorities later said at least 100 people were killed in the blasts near government offices, while another 300 people were wounded. Children were reportedly among those killed.
Speaking at the sight of the bombings, on Sunday morning, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud called for medical help from the international community. "We ask our international partners and Muslims around the world to send their medical doctors here since we can't send all the victims outside the country for treatment," he said.
What we know so far
The blasts occurred in the Zobe district and appeared to target the Education Ministry.
"Two car bombs hit the walls of the ministry," police captain Nur Farah told Reuters news agency.
The Foreign Ministry is also located in the same area.
The explosions left "scores of civilian casualties," national police spokesman Sadiq Dodishe told state media. Initial reports indicate at least 10 people were killed — including independent journalist Mohamed Isse Kona.
The al-Qaida linked Islamist group al-Shababclaimed responsibility for the attack on their radio
station Andalus. This came after Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre blamed the extremist group.
Al-Shadab routinely carries out bombing and gun attacks in Mogadishu and other areas. It said the ministry was an "enemy base'' that receives support from non-Muslim countries and "is committed to removing Somali children from the Islamic faith."
City targeted in deadly attacks
The site where Saturday's blasts took place was also the scene of a devastating truck bombing in 2017. The attack, which was claimed by al-Shabab, killed over 500 people.
The members of the militant extremist group also previously stormed Somalia's Education Ministry in 2015.
The Somali government and the United States launched a new offensive against al-Shabab. Washington has described the group as one of al-Qaida's deadliest organizations, while Somalia's government has described the operation as a "total war" against the group.
rs, zc/jcg (Reuters, dpa, AP, AFP)