At least people have been killed in two bomb attacks in Mogadishu on 14 October. The first attack reportedly saw a lorry packed with explosives ram through the barrier at a security checkpoint, before detonating near the entrance to the Safari Hotel. Hundreds are known to have been injured and the death toll is expected to rise.
Terrorism: At least people have been killed in two bomb attacks in Mogadishu on 14 October. Shortly after the first blast, a second vehicle bomb was detonated in the nearby Madina district, killing two instantly and injuring several more. The Somali government has blamed the attack on Al Shabab, the Islamist terror group, who are engaged in an ongoing insurgency against the Somali government. Al Shabab have yet to claim responsibility.
Numerous buildings and vehicles were destroyed in the blast; recovery operations are ongoing. Medical evacuations to Turkey have begun for many of those who are too severely injured for treatment in Mogadishu, with at least 30 critically injured people already airlifted out to Turkey. Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed declared three days of mourning. The death toll is expected to increase over the coming days with rescue workers stating that the true number of deaths may be impossible to establish.
Protests against the killings have already occurred. In January , the group killed 28 in a double car bomb outside a hotel near the Somali parliament and in June it killed 31 in an attack on a pizza restaurant.
The group has been reported to have formed links not only with Al Qaeda but other militant groups in Africa, such as Boko Haram. Al Shabab retains the capacity to mount large, complex bomb attacks; over the past three years, the number of civilians killed by insurgent bombings has steadily climbed.
