Updated Dec 28, 2019

Death toll rises to 79 in Somalia rush hour explosion

Wreckage of a bus in Somalia

Photo: Abdirahman Mohamed/picture alliance via Getty Images

A large explosion in Somalia's capital city, Mogadishu, has killed at least 79 people and injured at least 90 civilians on Saturday morning, The Washington Post reports.

The latest: The explosion was caused by a vehicle filled with bombs appearing to target morning traffic near a tax collection center, per the Post. More than a dozen university students and multiple police officers are among the dead.

  • Mogadishu Mayor Omar Mohamud said mostly students have been hurt in the attack.
  • No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamist militia al-Shabab regularly attacks the government institutions in Somalia, the Post writes.

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