Rescuers carried dead bodies past the twisted wreckage of a vehicle and minibus taxis smeared with blood. The director of a private ambulance service told the meeja, "The number of casualties we have confirmed is 76 dead and 70 wounded, it could still be higher." Witness Mohamed "the Inevitable" Abdi said, "I saw many dead bodies lying on the ground. Some of those dead were police officers, but most of them were students."
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab often carries out such attacks. The Islamic extremist group was pushed out of Mogadishu several years ago but continues to target high-profile areas such as checkpoints and hotels in the seaside city. Today's blast took place at the Ex-Control checkpoint, a "tax" collection (read: extortion) centre in Mogadishu.
Al-Shabaab was blamed for the truck bombing in Mogadishu in October 2017 that killed more than 500 people. The group never claimed responsibility for the blast that led to widespread public outrage. Another witness told AP, "This explosion is similar like the one...in 2017. This one occurred just a few steps away from where I am and it knocked me on the ground from its force."
Earlier this year a spokesthingy for the Disunited Nations said the jihadis are now able to make their own explosives -- their "weapons of choice. The followers of the Prophet previously relied on military-grade explosives captured during assaults on an African Union peacekeeping force. Today's attack again raises concern about the readiness of Somali forces to take over responsibility for security from the AU force, which is scheduled to withdraw in 2020.
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