At least 100 people have been killed and 300 wounded in two car bomb explosions in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu.
The attack at the busy Sobe intersection on Saturday targeted the Somali education ministry and a school.
Blaming the al-Shabab armed group for the attacks, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told reporters on Sunday that he expected the death toll from the twin blasts to rise further.
“Our people who were massacred … included mothers with their children in their arms, fathers who had medical conditions, students who were sent to study, businessmen who were struggling with the lives of their families,” the Somali leader said after visiting the site of the blast.
Sadiq Doodishe, a police spokesperson, told reporters that women, children and the elderly had been killed in the attack, Al Jazeera reported.
State news agency SONNA said independent journalist Mohamed Isse Kona was also killed.
The United Nations Mission in Somalia condemned Saturday’s “vicious attack” and extended its condolences to the families of the victims. Turkey condemned the “heinous” attack, while Qatar – firmly rejecting violence and “terrorism” – expressed its condolences and wished the wounded a speedy recovery.
