Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Saturday, October 14, 2017

BREAKING: Somalia: At least 30 dead in Mogadishu bomb blasts


  • October 14, 2017  18H:51  GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME 
  • From the sectionAfrica
Media captionThe aftermath of the explosion in Mogadishu
by Natalie Duval and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Djibouti
A massive bomb attack in a busy area of the Somali capital Mogadishu has killed at least 30 people, police say.
Dozens more were wounded when a lorry packed with explosives detonated near the entrance of a hotel.
Police say two people were killed in a second bomb attack in the Madina district of the city.
It is not clear who staged the attacks. Mogadishu is a regular target for the al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab group, which is battling the government.
Image shows civilians evacuating from the scene of an explosion in the Hodan district of Mogadishu, Somalia on 14 October 2017Image copyrightREUTERS
Image captionThere are fears people are trapped under the rubble
After the first blast, police captain Mohamed Hussein told Reuters news agency: "It was a truck bomb. There are casualties but we do not know the exact amount as the scene is still burning."
Witnesses told us at the BBC they believed dozens of people were dead.
A BBC Somali reporter at the scene said the Safari Hotel had collapsed, with people thought to be trapped under the rubble.
Mogadishu resident Muhidin Ali told news agency AFP it was "the biggest blast I have ever witnessed, it destroyed the whole area".
A map showing Mogadishu

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