Saturday October 29, 2022
Mogadishu (HOL) - Two large explosions occurred close to the Ministry of Education office near Zoobe junction in Mogadishu on Saturday afternoon, killing scores of civilians.
A sizeable billow of smoke was visible from the busy K-5 junction
A resident told HOL that windows were blown close to 1km away.
The exact casualties are unknown, but witnesses and police say at least a dozen people may have been killed.
During a press conference in Mogadishu, Police spokesman Sadik Dodishe did not specify how many people died in the attack but said that the attack happened at a busy hour and that women and children were among the dead.
Dodishe said a journalist named Mohamed Issa Konan was among the dead.
Reuters photojournalist Feisal Omar was seriously injured. The Somali Journalists Syndicate said he will undergo emergency surgery to remove shrapnel from the blast.
Sources say the Hodan district police commander, Hussein Ad'eyd Osman, was also killed in the attack.
A second large explosion came minutes after the first blast.
The director of Mogadishu's only ambulance service said that one of Aamin Ambulance's drivers was injured, and his ambulance was destroyed while attempting to access the victims from the first explosion.
The blast comes as senior government officials and security officials are meeting at the headquarters of the Somali Police Force in Mogadishu to discuss the ongoing offensive operations against al Shabaab.
The Somali President and the leaders of the Federal Member States are also meeting in Mogadishu for a two-day NCC summit focused on security.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, but the armed militant insurgent al-Shabab frequently targets government and civilian buildings in Somalia's major cities.
Saturday's twin bomb attack is close to the site of Somalia's worst terrorist attack. Over 500 people were killed, and hundreds seriously injured five years ago in the infamous Zoobe junction blast that involved a truck packed with several hundred kilograms of military-grade and homemade explosives.
Al Shabaab stormed Somalia's education ministry in April 2015. During the attack, the militants killed six soldiers and 15 civilians.
With the assistance of local militias, Somalia's federal government has launched a fresh offensive against the terrorist insurgency group, particularly in the Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle regions.
This story is developing.
Hodan district commander (L) and M24 TV reporter Mohamed Isse Kona (R) were among the victims in Saturday's twin explosions near the Ministry of Education.