At least 79 people were killed and 149 wounded after a car bomb detonated during rush hour in Somalia’s capital. The bombing occurred at a busy intersection on the outskirts of Mogadishu at around 8 a.m. on Saturday, according to CNN. Government spokesman Ismael Mukhtar said that the perpetrator drove the explosive-laden vehicle into a checkpoint.
Mukhtar said that university students are among those
who were killed in the attack, for which al Qaeda affiliate al Shabaab
has already claimed credit. Al Shabaab is an Islamist terrorist group
that wants to turn Somalia, an already war-torn and failed nation, into a
fundamentalist state.
The death toll is feared to rise as some of the more than
149 wounded people could succumb to their injuries. Photos from
Mogadishu show the destruction from Saturday’s attack, including
destroyed buildings, mangled cars, and bloodied Somalis being carried
from the chaos.
