Somali police said eight people were killed in a car bomb attack claimed by the Islamist al-Shabaab movement in central Somalia, where authorities are campaigning to reclaim territory dominated by al-Shabaab-linked militants. Kaida”.
Abdullah Mahmud, a local police officer, said a man blew up a car near the administrative building. He added that “five people died at the scene of the explosion, three more later died in the hospital.”
He indicated that the suicide bomber wanted to destroy the main bridge in the city before changing his target to a civilian area.
According to eyewitnesses, the explosion damaged buildings and the city’s main mosque.
“I saw the bodies of five people, two of them old men, who were leaving the mosque,” said one of these witnesses, Muhyiddin Sokoro.
Police reported another car bomb explosion in Jalalaksi, another town in Hiran, but only the attacker died.
Police also said the attack was thwarted and the suspect was arrested while attempting to escape from a vehicle filled with explosives.
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the three attacks in a communication from its communications service.
Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud’s government, which had promised to launch an “all out war” against the group, sent military forces, including special forces, in September to support the militias known as “Makavisli”.
And allowed this campaign, backed by African Union forces in Somalia and US airstrikes, to reclaim vast areas in two states in the center of the country, Hirshabella, where Hiran province is located, and Galmudug.
