Suicide attack kills 30+ in Somali capital Mogadishu

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - Over 30 people including civilians and government soldiers were killed and many more wounded when a suicide truck bomb targeted a security checkpoint in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday, officials said.

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