Oct. 29 (UPI) — A pair of car bombings on Saturday produced casualties in the Somali capital Mogadishu, authorities said.
Somali president Hamza Abdi-Barre placed the blame for the two explosions on the al-Shabaab extremist group.
“My thoughts are with the families of all who died & with those who were injured in today’s barbaric attacks. My government remains committed to fighting & eliminating the terrorist group al-Shabaab from our country,” Barre said on Twitter Saturday.
The group had not claimed responsibility on Saturday but al-Shabaab rarely does so publicly.
Civilians, including a journalist, were among those killed, Somalia’s national police confirmed.
“Journalist Mohamed Eise Koona is among people who died in today’s explosions at the Ministry of Education HQs. Several other journalists were wounded,” the Somali Guardian said on Twitter.
An initial targeting the Somali Education Ministry was followed shortly by a second explosion nearby in the Zobe Junction area of the Somali capital.
Saturday’s attacks happened in the same area where a truck packed with explosives blew up on October 14, 2017, killing 512 people and injuring more than 290.
“The ruthless terrorists killed mothers, some of them died with their children trapped on their backs,” police spokesman Sadik Dudishe told reporters.
Somalia has been plagued by violence for years. In August, gunmen stormed a hotel in Mogadishu, killing 21people at the facility.
That fighting was between government troops and supporters of the Islamist militant group al-Shabab.
