The Slatest

Massive Truck Bomb Kills at Least 276 in Somalia’s Capital

People gather near burnt vehicles a day after a truck bomb exploded in the center of Mogadishu on Sunday.

Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP/Getty Images

The death toll from the powerful bomb that rocked the Somalian capital of Mogadishu on Saturday rose to at least 189 with more than 200 injured as rescue workers kept pulling bodies—many charred beyond recognition—from the rubble. (Update at 6 p.m.: The death toll has increased to at least 276 and some 300 injured). The surging death toll has turned the blast into the single deadliest attack ever in Somalia. And the numbers are expected to rise. Unconfirmed reports claim at least 218 people were killed in the attack that took place in a busy intersection near several key ministries and a hotel. “There was a traffic jam, and the road was packed with bystanders and cars,” a waiter at a nearby restaurant, said. “It’s a disaster.”

Minutes after that first blast, another car bomb exploded in the city although that one appears to have been less deadly.

Somali security officers patrol on the scene of the explosion of a truck bomb in the centre of Mogadishu, on October 15, 2017.

MOHAMED ABDIWAHAB/AFP/Getty Images

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks but officials immediately pointed the finger at the al-Qaida–linked al-Shabab group. Security officials were in pursuit of the truck before it exploded, according to Mogadishu police. “Today’s horrific attack proves our enemy would stop nothing to cause our people pain and suffering. Let’s unite against terror,” President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo wrote on Twitter as he declared three days of mourning.

One freelance journalist and five Red Crescent volunteers were among those killed in the attack.

The U.K. ambassador to Somalia, David Concar, tweeted shortly after the first reports of the attack, saying the blast was clearly audible from the British Embassy. “Such cruel, cowardly acts,” Concar wrote later. “My condolences to the families & friends of the killed & injured, & to all Somalis.”

The attack came mere days after the head of the U.S. Africa Command was in Mogadishu and took place at a time when the U.S. military has been stepping up the number of drone strikes against al-Shabab in the region. The al-Qaida–linked terror group has also recently increased its attacks on army bases in southern and central Somalia.