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Truck bomb in Mogadishu kills at least 189 people Truck bomb in Mogadishu kills at least 230 people
(about 1 hour later)
At least 189 people have been killed in the most powerful explosion to rock Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, with more than 200 injured – making it the deadliest attack ever in the country, police and hospital sources have said. More than 230 people have been killed in the most deadly bombing to hit Somalia, with hundreds more injured, officials and hospital sources have said.
Doctors struggled to treat horrifically wounded victims on Sunday. Officials fear the death toll will continue to climb after Saturday’s truck bomb, which targeted a busy street near key ministries. Doctors struggled to treat horrifically wounded victims on Sunday, while thousands of people queued to give blood in the battered capital of the east African state.
Ambulance sirens still echoed across the city as bewildered families wandered in the rubble of buildings, looking for missing relatives. “In our 10-year experience as the first responder in #Mogadishu, we haven’t seen anything like this,” the Aamin ambulance service tweeted. Officials fear the death toll will rise still further after Saturday’s truck bomb, which targeted a well-known hotel on a busy street near key ministries, demolishing the building and devastating the area for hundreds of metres in every direction.
Many people were overwhelmed with grief. “There’s nothing I can say. We have lost everything,” wept Zainab Sharif, a mother of four who lost her husband. She sat outside a hospital where he was pronounced dead after hours of efforts by doctors to save him from an arterial injury. Ambulance sirens echoed across the city on Sunday afternoon as bewildered families wandered among rubble and wrecked vehicles, looking for missing relatives. Bodies were carried from the scene in makeshift stretchers made of blankets, as people tried to remove debris with their bare hands.
“In our 10-year experience as the first responder in #Mogadishu, we haven’t seen anything like this,” the Aamin ambulance service tweeted.
Many people were overwhelmed with grief. “There’s nothing I can say. We have lost everything,” said Zainab Sharif, a mother of four who lost her husband in the attack. She sat outside a hospital where he was pronounced dead after hours of efforts by doctors to save him from an arterial injury.
Maryan Abdullahi was also among those killed. The 22-year-old had been due to graduate from university. Amino Ahmed, Abdullahi’s classmate, said: “A sad day. Her family was so proud of her and were counting the hours before her graduation. The life of a rising star was sadly cut short.”Maryan Abdullahi was also among those killed. The 22-year-old had been due to graduate from university. Amino Ahmed, Abdullahi’s classmate, said: “A sad day. Her family was so proud of her and were counting the hours before her graduation. The life of a rising star was sadly cut short.”
As stories of the victims emerged, bewildered family members were still picking their way through the rubble on Sunday. Ambulance sirens wailed, and overwhelmed hospitals pleaded for blood donations. The Somali president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, declared three days of national mourning and joined thousands of people who responded to a plea by hospitals to donate blood for the wounded. “I am appealing to all Somali people to come forward and donate,” he said.
The Somali president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, declared three days of national mourning and joined thousands of people who responded to a plea by hospitals to donate blood for the wounded. “I am appealing all Somali people to come forward and donate,” he said. Dr Mohamed Yusuf, the director of the city’s Medina hospital, said his staff had been “overwhelmed by both dead and wounded”.
Dr Mohamed Yusuf, the director of the city’s Medina hospital, said: ‘The hospital is overwhelmed by both dead and wounded. We also received people whose limbs were cut away by the bomb. This is really horrendous, unlike any other time in the past.” “This is really horrendous, unlike any other time in the past.”
Overnight, rescue workers searched for survivors under the rubble of the largely destroyed Safari hotel, close to Somalia’s foreign ministry. The explosion blew off metal gates and blast walls erected outside the hotel. There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, but the prime suspect remain the al-Shabab Islamist organisation, which has been active in Somalia for almost a decade.
Somalia’s government blamed the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabaab extremist group for the attack. The group, which is an affiliate of al-Qaida, has a history of launching bomb attacks against civilian targets in Mogadishu, especially hotels, but does not claim all such operations. It has a significant presence on the outskirts of the city and controls a swath of land in south and central Somalia.
However, al-Shabaab, which often targets high-profile areas of the capital with bombings, has yet to comment. Analysts say the strike shows that the group believes it is strong enough to launch aggressive offensive operations designed to destabilise the new government of Mohamed.
“They don’t care about the lives of Somali people, mothers, fathers and children,” the prime minister, Hassan Ali Khaire, said. “They have targeted the most populated area in Mogadishu, killing only civilians.” There is a small faction of extremists linked to the Islamic State in northern Somalia but it is not thought to have the capability to launch this kind of attack.
Somalia’s information minister, Abdirahman Omar Osman, said the blast was the largest the city had ever seen. “It’s a sad day. This is how merciless and brutal they are, and we have to unite against them,” he said. Somalia officials said al-Shabab did not “care about the lives of Somali people, mothers, fathers and children”.
“They have targeted the most populated area in Mogadishu, killing only civilians.”the prime minister, Hassan Ali Khaire, said.
Somalia’s information minister, Abdirahman Omar Osman, said the blast was the largest the city had seen. “It’s a sad day. This is how merciless and brutal they are, and we have to unite against them,” he said.
The US joined the condemnation, saying: “Such cowardly attacks reinvigorate the commitment of the United States to assist our Somali and African Union partners to combat the scourge of terrorism.”The US joined the condemnation, saying: “Such cowardly attacks reinvigorate the commitment of the United States to assist our Somali and African Union partners to combat the scourge of terrorism.”
The US military has stepped up drone strikes and other efforts this year against al-Shabaab, which is also fighting the Somali military and more than 20,000 African Union forces in the country.The US military has stepped up drone strikes and other efforts this year against al-Shabaab, which is also fighting the Somali military and more than 20,000 African Union forces in the country.
Saturday’s blast occurred two days after the head of the US Africa command was in Mogadishu to meet Somalia’s president, and two days after the country’s defence minister and army chief resigned for undisclosed reasons.Saturday’s blast occurred two days after the head of the US Africa command was in Mogadishu to meet Somalia’s president, and two days after the country’s defence minister and army chief resigned for undisclosed reasons.