Somalia Car Bombs Kill At Least Nine

At least nine people, including children, were killed on Saturday in twin car bomb attacks targeting Somalia’s education ministry, security officials and eyewitnesses said.

Two cars laden with explosives were detonated within minutes near the busy Jobe Junction, followed by shots fired,

“I was one of the first security officers to reach the area, I saw the bodies of nine people, mostly women and children,” said security officer Ahmed Ali, who said dozens were injured.

Another security official, Yousuf Abdullahi, also paid a similar toll.

Police spokesman Sadiq Dudishe did not give the death toll but said the incident was being investigated.

“The ruthless terrorists killed the mothers. Some of them died with their children strapped to their backs,” he told reporters at a press briefing, adding that the attackers had targeted “students and other civilians.”

Dudish said the response of the security forces had prevented the attackers from reaching their intended location.

Afternoon blasts broke windows of nearby buildings, shrapnel flew, and clouds of smoke and dust blew into the air.

Abdirahman Ise, an eyewitness, said the road was busy when the first blast occurred.

Another witness Amino Salad said, “I saw heavy smoke in the ministry area and there was heavy destruction.”

The attack took place at a busy junction where a truck loaded with explosives exploded on October 14, 2017, killing 512 people and injuring over 290.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamist group al-Shabaab remains a powerful force in the troubled Horn of Africa nation, despite multinational efforts to downplay its leadership.

Jihadists have been calling for the overthrow of the weak foreign-backed government in Mogadishu for nearly 15 years.

Its fighters were driven out of the capital by an African Union force in 2011, but the group still controls the countryside and has the ability to launch deadly attacks on civilian and military targets.

They use threats of violence to collect taxes in the area under their jurisdiction.

The group claimed responsibility for last week’s attack on a hotel in the port city of Kisamayo, in which nine people were killed and 47 others were injured.

In August, the group launched a 30-hour gun and bomb attack on the popular Hyatt Hotel in Mogadishu, killing 21 and injuring 117.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed, elected in May, vowed to wage an “all-round war” against Islamists after the August siege.

In September he urged citizens to stay away from areas controlled by jihadists, saying armed forces and tribal militias were launching attacks against them.

On October 1, a joint US-Somali drone strike killed one of the militants’ most senior commanders.

Just hours after his death was announced, at least 30 people were killed in a triple bombing in the southern city of Beledwein.

In addition to violence, Somalia – like its neighbors in the Horn of Africa – is hit by its worst drought in more than 40 years. Four unsuccessful rainy seasons have destroyed livestock and crops.