Oct 31, 2022 - World

Death toll from Somalia car bombings rises to 120

Ivana Saric

aftermath of car blasts in Somalia — Local residents look at debris from a destroyed buildings in Mogadishu on Oct. 30 after an car bombing targeted the education ministry on Oct. 29. Photo: Hassan Ali Elmi/AFP via Getty Images

Twin car bombings in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu this weekend killed at least 120 people, Somalia's Health Minister Ali Haji Aden said on Monday, Reuters reported.

Driving the news: Al-Shabab, an extremist group that has been linked to Al-Qaeda, has claimed responsibility for the explosions which took place on Saturday.

More than 320 people were wounded in the blasts and more than 150 people are being treated for their injuries in hospitals, the health minister added, per AP.

The big picture: The blasts are the deadliest attack in the country since a truck bomb exploded in the same intersection in 2017, killing more than 500 people.

Al-Shabab said it had targeted the education ministry, which it described as an "enemy base" intent on "removing Somali children from the Islamic faith," AP reported.
Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud visited the site of the explosions on Sunday and said the country was at war with al-Shabab “and we are winning," per AP.

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Death toll from Somalia car bombings rises to 120

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