A suspected al-Shabab suicide bomber killed a number of individuals and wounded others Sunday in an assault on a army recruitment heart in southern Mogadishu, Somali authorities and witnesses mentioned.
The assailant, posing as a civilian, detonated explosives outdoors the Xero Damaayo camp at 9:20 a.m. native time (6:20 a.m. GMT), in accordance with the Information Ministry.
“Casualties have been reported, but details are still being verified,” the ministry mentioned in an announcement.
Security forces secured the scene and launched an investigation into the blast.
The al-Qaida-linked terrorist group al-Shabab claimed accountability for the bombing.
“The mujahideen carried out an explosion targeting apostates who stayed in front of Xero Damaayo in Mogadishu’s Hodon district. They were enlisting to join the forces,” the group mentioned in an announcement.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos and devastation close to the blast web site.
Adan Yare, a tuk-tuk driver passing by means of the world, mentioned the street was crowded with civilians ready to enter the army camp when the explosion occurred.
“I was very lucky because when the explosion happened, I had already driven past the area. The blast shook my tuk-tuk, and when I stopped and looked back, there were several people lying on the ground – some of them dead, others wounded,” he mentioned.
Another witness, Saalim Nur, mentioned he noticed the our bodies of 5 civilians.
“I was in a minibus a few hundred meters from the scene when the explosion occurred. The whole area turned to rubble, with stones and sand flying,” he mentioned.
Egypt, which has shut ties with Somalia, condemned the assault.
“The Arab Republic of Egypt condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist attack that occurred today at the Damaayo military camp in the capital, Mogadishu, which resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries,” the Egyptian Foreign Ministry mentioned in an announcement.
Egypt pledged continued assist for Somalia’s nationwide establishments and their safety and army capabilities to assist confront “all manifestations of violence and terrorism.”
Somalia has confronted a resurgence of al-Shabab assaults in latest months. The group, which goals to topple the federal government, has intensified its marketing campaign within the impoverished and climate-vulnerable nation.
In March, al-Shabab claimed accountability for a bomb concentrating on the presidential convoy in Mogadishu, and in April, the terrorists fired mortar shells close to the capital’s airport.
Source: www.dailysabah.com