Twin explosions in Somalian capital kills at least 100 people

Africa, News October 31, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

A twin car bomb in the Somalian capital city of Mogadishu on October 30, 2022, killed at least 100 people while leaving more than 300 injured.

The attack on the same day as the country’s president, prime minister, and other senior government officials were meeting in the capital to discuss the surge in violent extremism, especially inflicted by Al Qaeda and Al Shabab.

The blast occurred outside the office of the Somalian ministry of education on a busy day. Somalian President Hasan Sheikh Mohamud confirmed the death of at least 100 people in a statement after he visited the site of the explosion.

“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 president said in his statement.

No particular group or organization has claimed responsibility for the blasts yet. The first explosion occurred near the Zobe junction in Mogadishu. The bomb has been reported to be planted in a parked car along the road. The second blast occurred shortly after the first one. It is reported to occur after ambulances had gathered to rescue the victims from the first blast. More people as well as rescue officials had gathered at the scene which made the second blast deadlier.

The two blasts were so intense that the windows of nearby buildings shattered completely. Among those killed in the second blast were a prominent journalist and senior police officers who had gathered at the scene after the first blast occurred. Somalian state news agency said that the blast resulted in “scores of civilian casualties, including independent journalist Mohamed Isse Kona.”

The African Union (AU) mission in Somalia said that the “attacks underline the urgency and critical importance of the ongoing military offensive to further degrade al-Shabab”.

^{Relatives wait for bodies to be removed from the destruction at the scene, a day after a double car bomb attack at a busy junction in Mogadishu, Somalia Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (Image Credit: AP/Farah Abdi Warsameh)}

Al Shabab is a terrorist organization that is active in Somalia as well as other East African countries. Al Shabab is known for attacking high-profile targets with explosions and gun attacks. The current attack in Mogadishu finds a resemblance to Al Shabab’s previous attacks. The group stormed the education ministry in 2015, and the latest attack occurred at the scene of a massive Al Shabab blast in 2017, which killed more than 500 people.

The group operated independently after emerging as a radical wing from Somalia’s Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which no longer exists. The group later declared allegiance to Al Qaeda in 2012. UK recognizes Al Shabab as a terrorist organization while the U.S. describes the group as Al Qaeda’s deadliest affiliate.

The Somalian government has carried out several offenses against the group with some success, however, the group keeps attacking major targets from time to time.