20 killed in Mogadishu market blast

Risingbd Desk: At least 20 people have died after a car bomb exploded in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

In the deadliest attack since the election of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed - nicknamed Farmajo - the vehicle exploded on Sunday at an intersection packed with civilians, traders and security forces.

"A suicide car bomber blew himself up inside this market at a busy time, killing at least 20 people and many others were also injured," said Ahmed Abdulle Afrah, the district commissioner of Mogadishu's Wadajir district.

Final death tolls in attacks in Somalia are difficult to establish, as relatives, public and private ambulances ferry the injured and dead away.

Al-Shabab, the armed anti-government group, did not claim responsibility for the attack, but it came on the same day as it threatened to wage "vicious war" against Farmajo and his new government, according to the SITE intelligence group which monitors its accounts.
Farmajo described Via Twitter the attack as "horrific" and shared pictures of himself visiting victims in hospital.

Local media also reported he had offered a $100,000 reward for information on who carried out the attack.

Sheikh Hassan Yaqub Ali, a senior al-Shabab official, said in a speech broadcast on a radio station linked to the group, that Farmajo was considered more dangerous than past presidents as he held joint American citizenship.

The blast brought international condemnation, with the European Union describing it as "yet another act of terror targeting the Somali people by those wanting to undermine progress towards a stable and secure Somalia".

Source: Agencies



Risingbd/Feb 20, 2017/Mukul