UPDATE - Suicide attack kills 60+ in Somali capital Mogadishu

UPDATES DEATH TOLL, ADDS STATEMENT OF TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER, REVISED DECK

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – At least 61 people, including two Turkish nationals, were killed and many more wounded in a suicide truck bomb attack on a security checkpoint in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday, officials said.

According to Abdulkadir Adan, the head of the local Aamin Ambulance Service, the 61 victims also include civilians and government troops.

Condemning the attack, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu added: "I wish God's grace for two Turkish nationals and all those innocent Somali brothers killed in the attack. We always will continue to support Somalia. Our determined fight against terror will continue.”

The attack took place at the junction called Ex-Control Afgoye in a southwestern suburb of the capital during morning rush hour.

"Students traveling to schools and universities were among those killed in the attack," Ismail Mukhtar Orango, a Somali government spokesman, told Anadolu Agency after the attack.

The death toll is expected to rise as the victims who died in hospital have not yet been fully counted, he added.

Mogadishu resident Mahmoud Ali, 30, told Anadolu Agency that the attack was one of the deadliest he has seen in his lifetime.

Hussain Ibrahim, a police captain, told Anadolu Agency that an investigation is underway after the attack.

No group has yet claimed responsibility.

An Oct. 14, 2017 double truck bombing in Mogadishu blamed on terrorist group al-Shabaab killed at least 500 people, mostly civilians.

* Writing and contributions by Davut Demircan