Twin suicide bombings in central Somalia kill at least 10

​​​​​​​By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – At least 10 people, including soldiers, were killed and 10 others wounded in simultaneous bombings in a town in central Somalia on Wednesday.

Two suicide bombers targeted two residential buildings in Mahas, a town in Somalia’s Hiran region, some 307 kilometers (190 miles) from the capital Mogadishu.

One is the residence of Mumin Mohamed Halane, the town’s mayor, and the other of a federal parliamentarian named Mahamed Abuukar Jacfar, according to Ali Abdurahman, a police officer in Hiran.

Both officials were unharmed in the attacks, he told Anadolu Agency.

“We believe the attacks were carried out by two al-Shabaab suicide bombers,” he said, referring to the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group that has claimed thousands of lives in a deadly campaign against Somali government and international forces since at least 2007.

Local media reports said the attacks were carried out using vehicles loaded with explosives.

Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s suicide bombings, which came as Somali forces, backed by local militias, are carrying out a major offensive against the terror group in the region.

Somalia has been plagued by insecurity for years, with al-Shabaab being one of the main threats.

The UN has warned of growing instability in the country, with periodic reports last year detailing attacks by al-Shabaab and pro-Daesh/ISIS terror groups.

There were at least 1,518 civilian casualties – 651 killed and 867 injured – in terror attacks in Somalia in 2018, followed by 1,459 – 591 killed and 868 injured – in 2019, according to UN estimates.