100 killed, 300 injured as two car bombs explode in Somalia’s market

 

The two car bombs that exploded at Somalia’s education ministry next to a busy market intersection killed at least 100 people and wounded 300, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said on Sunday, warning the death toll could rise. 

Saturday’s attack was the deadliest since a truck bomb exploded at the same intersection in October 2017, killing more than 500 people. President Mohamud said some of the wounded were in a serious condition and the death toll could rise, 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,” he said after visiting the scene. 

Somalia’s international partners condemned the attack and sent condolences to affected families. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Sunday the United States “strongly condemns the tragic terrorist attack” and it remains “committed to supporting the Federal Government of Somalia in its fight to prevent such callous terrorist acts.” 

A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement that he “strongly condemns these heinous attacks and reiterates that the United Nations stands in solidarity with Somalia against violent extremism.” “These senseless attacks against innocent civilians including women and children only serve to remind us of the group’s barbarity towards its own people and reveals the true hypocrisy of its intent,” the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said in a statement. 

With support from the United States and allied local militias, the president has launched an offensive against the group, although results have been limited.