Five people killed as huge explosion, gunfire rocks Mogadishu
Africa
By
Reuters
| Nov 25, 2021
At least five people have died and 23 others injured after a huge explosion rocked Somalia's capital Mogadishu early on Thursday, triggering a plume of smoke that rose from the blast site amid gunfire, according to officials and a Reuters witness.
"So far we know five people died and 23 others (were) injured," Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of Aamin Ambulance services, told Reuters.
Somalia Islamist group al Shabaab carried out the attack which was targeting a passing United Nations convoy, Abdiasis Abu Musab, the group's military operations spokesman told Reuters.
The blast near the K4 junction in the heart of Mogadishu was so large it collapsed the walls of the nearby Mucassar primary and secondary school and also left cars mangled.
READ MORE
Investing in women is a strategic imperative for sustainable development
What Kenya can do to boost its global coffee market standing
Why African cities will linger in the crosshairs of floods
Millers threaten to shut down over court order to increase cane prices
Mortgage refinancing is democratising home ownership in tough market
Why you might pay more rent soon
Court throws out Jogoo Road residents' suit to stop eviction
eCitizen targets Sh1b daily from 30 million subscribers
NSSF in new plan to expand into Sh1 trillion scheme in five years
Nairobi Innovation Week opens with call for stronger academia-industry ties
"We were shaken by the blast pressure, then deafened by the gunfire that followed," said Mohamed Hussein, a nurse at the nearby Osman Hospital.
He added he had been pulled from the rubble of a collapsed ceiling.
"Our hospital walls collapsed. Opposite us is a school that also collapsed. I do not know how many died," he said.
Security officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Al Shabaab has been fighting Somalia's central government for years to establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islam's sharia law.
The group frequently carries out bombings and gun assaults in Somalia and elsewhere in its war against the Somalia military and the African Union-mandated AMISOM force that helps defend the central government.
- Why you might pay more rent soon
- Millers threaten to shut down over court order to increase cane prices
- eCitizen targets Sh1b daily from 30 million subscribers
- Miraa farmers sue Murkomen, KAA over Sh4,000 levy at JKIA
- Fears of maize seed crisis as floods hit Perkerra irrigation scheme