Over 90 killed in Somalia blast

Mogadishu, December 28

At least 90 people were killed and dozens were wounded when a bomb-laden vehicle exploded at a bustling checkpoint in Somali capital Mogadishu here today, an international organisation working in the country said. It is one of the most deadly recent attacks.

The dead included many students and two Turkish nationals, the Somali foreign minister said. Rescuers carried bodies past the twisted wreckage of a vehicle and a minibus taxi smeared with blood. A report by the international organisation, which did not want to be named, said the death toll was more than 90. A Somali MP also tweeted that he had been told the death toll stands at more than 90, including 17 police officers.

Abdikadir Abdirahman Haji Aden, founder of Aamin ambulances, told Reuters that dozens of people were also wounded. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast. Al Qaeda-linked Islamist group al Shabaab regularly carries out such attacks in an attempt to undermine the government, which is backed by the United Nations and African Union troops.

The most deadly attack blamed on the group was in October 2017 when a bomb-laden truck exploded next to a fuel tanker in Mogadishu, creating a storm of fire that killed nearly 600 people. While al Shabaab carries out frequent attacks, the death tolls are often lower than in Saturday’s blast. The group has sometimes not claimed responsibility for attacks that sparked a big public backlash, such as a 2009 suicide bombing of a graduation ceremony for medical students.

Three witnesses said a small team of Turkish engineers were present at the time of the blast at the Ex-Control checkpoint, constructing a road from the checkpoint into the city. A car belonging to the engineers was destroyed instantly in the blast, the witnesses said. Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad later tweeted that two of the Turkish engineers died in the blast.

Many of the dead were students, he wrote. — Reuters