Car bombs in Somalia: family of nine killed in attack in Hiraan

BBCNews

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BBCNews. January 5, 2023

A family of nine was killed in a double car bomb attack in Somalia's central Hiraan province, a witness told the BBC.

 

Another 26 people also died, the deputy commissioner for local politics told the Reuters news agency.

 

The al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab has said it was behind the attack.

 

The district commissioner of Mahas City said his house and that of a local parliamentarian were the targets.

 

Meanwhile, the second explosion targeted the market, Mahas mayor Mumin Mohamed Halane told the BBC.

 

The explosions were so powerful that witnesses said people far from the blast sites were injured by flying fragments.

 

"This was a horrible attack," witness Adan Hassan told the AFP news agency, describing the bodies he saw.

 

Al-Shabab has been losing ground in recent months after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud vowed an "all-out war" against Islamist militants in August following an attack on a popular Mogadishu hotel in which killed more than 20 people.

 

Two months later, two car bombs exploded near a busy intersection in Mogadishu and They killed at least 100 people. Al-Shabab also said it was behind that attack.

 

President Mohamud subsequently mobilized the Somali army and government-backed clan militias in an attempt to take villages and towns from al-Shabab, which controls large swaths of the country.

 

Despite its territory losses, al-Shabab has continued to carry out attacks in central and southern Somalia.

 

Both African Union forces and US funds have been allocated to assist Somalia in its fight against al-Shabab.