REVISED DECK; UPDATES WITH WOUNDED SOMALIS BROUGHT TO TURKEY, ARRIVAL OF BODIES OF TURKISH VICTIMS, AND COMMENTS BY TURKISH AMBASSADOR IN MOGADISHU
By Ali Murat Alhas, Emin Sansar and Yesim Sert Karaaslan
ANKARA, Turkey / MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – A Turkish military plane arrived in Somalia's capital early Sunday bringing help in the wake of a terrorist attack that claimed nearly 80 lives.
“Turkish Armed Forces aircraft carrying health services personnel and equipment have arrived in Mogadishu in an effort to provide support for our Somalian brothers injured during the heinous terrorist bomb attack in Somalia,” said Turkey’s National Defense Ministry on Twitter.
According to the Health Ministry, the bodies of two Turkish nationals slain in the terror attack were brought back to Turkey, and 15 wounded Somalis were also brought to Turkey for medical treatment.
Commenting on the deadly attack, Mehmet Yilmaz, Turkey's ambassador in Mogadishu, said Turkey will continue to stand by Somalia.
He said there are about 50 Somalis currently being treated in Recep Tayyip Erdogan Hospital in Somalia.
The 200-bed hospital, named after Turkey’s president and built by the state-run Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), is run by Turkey’s Health Ministry and over half funded by Turkey.
Turkey has strong ties with Somalia, and since 2011, TIKA has taken part in over 150 projects in the Horn of Africa country.
Mentioning the October 2017 attack in Mogadishu, which killed more than 600 people -- the country’s deadliest attack to date -- he added that Turkey previously extended its helping hand to Somalia.
Early Saturday, a suicide truck bomb attack on a security checkpoint in Mogadishu killed scores of people, including two Turkish nationals, and wounded many more.