UPDATE - Suicide attacks in Somalia death toll rises to 20

UPDATES WITH DEATH TOLL

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - At least 20 people were killed, including security personnel and civilians, and several others wounded in twin suicide car bomb attacks in Somalia’s central town of Mahas, according to officials.

Bishar Abdullahi, a security official in Hiran province, confirmed the fatalities that included security officials.

He said more than 20 others were wounded and those who sustained serious and life-threatening injuries were flown to the nation’s capital of Mogadishu for treatment.

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

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

Both officials were unharmed in the attacks, he said.

Journalist Khalid Muhumad, known as Ilka Ase, is among those wounded.

Al-Shabab terrorists claimed responsibility for the attack and said it had struck the main government based in the town and killed more than 80 people and wounded 130 others.

Government forces, backed by local clan militias, have recently liberated large swathes of territories, mainly in the state of Hirshabele.

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

Since at least 2007, al-Shabaab has waged a deadly campaign against the Somali government and international forces, claiming thousands of lives.

The UN has also warned of growing instability, with periodic reports on Somalia this 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.