Toll from twin bomb attack in Somalia rises to 15
The attack came a day after a new federal regional leader took power in Baidoa
The toll from a twin bomb attack in the central Somali town of Baidoa has risen to 15, police said on Saturday, as the president decried what he called a desperate strike.
“The number of people who were confirmed dead are fifteen,” said Somali police official Osmail Mohamed.
Friday’s blast was the latest in a string of attacks and saw a suicide bomber detonate his explosives among a crowd of people drinking at a busy teashop in the town.
A second blast then went off as rescuers went to help the wounded.
Those killed included two journalists, colleagues said on Friday.
Somalia President Hassan Sheik Mohamud decried the attack as an act of desperation.
“The suicide blast which targeted innocent civilians demonstrates solely the desperateness of the violent elements whose agenda is to derail the tranquility and development of this society,” he said in a statement.
The attack came a day after a new federal regional leader took power in Baidoa, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of the capital Mogadishu.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Somalia’s al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabab rebels have previously carried out repeated attacks in the town as part of their fight to overthrow the country’s internationally-backed government.
Recent al-Shabab attacks in Somalia have targeted key government and security sites in an apparent bid to discredit claims by the authorities and African Union troops that they are winning the war.
On Thursday they wounded an MP and killed a former lawmaker in Mogadishu, while on Wednesday an al-Shabab suicide bomber killed four when they rammed a car packed with explosives into a United Nations convoy.
Al-Shabab have also stepped up operations in neighboring Kenya, and on Tuesday massacred 36 non-Muslim quarry workers in a Kenyan border town.
Also Read
-
Nine killed, scores wounded in twin bomb attack in Somali town
Two of those killed were journalists and three others were among the scores wounded Africa -
Kenyan military plane crashes in Somalia, rebels say shot down
The aircraft came down in the area of the southern port city of Kismayu Africa -
Somali refugees at Sayyid camp south of Mogadishu
Somali refugees go about their daily lives on October 30, 2014 in the at Sayyid camp south of Mogadishu. Perspective -
Uganda arrests Somali Shabaab bombers
The U.S. embassy on Sunday lifted warnings to its citizens to stay at home, but said people should remain vigilant Africa -
U.S. army targets al-Shabaab leader in Somalia
Al-Shabaab militants have targeted key areas of the Somali government in a bid to discredit claims by the authorities Africa -
Somali journalists urge fair trial for colleagues
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) said journalists had been accused of “incitement”. Media -
Islamists gun down Somali protest singer-turned-lawmaker
Saado Ali Warsame was one of fewer than 30 women lawmakers in the 275-seat parliament Africa -
Al-Shabaab attack Somali presidential palace
A spokesman for the militant movement said the office of the president is under al-Shabaab’s control Middle East -
4 killed in car bomb attack in Somalia
The Somali terror group al-Shabab, which has recently targeted parliamentarians, claimed responsibility Africa -
Britain: Somali Islamists plotting Djibouti attack
Britain warned citizens in several East African nations against attacks during public screenings of the World Cup Africa
