Death Toll in Central Somalia Attacks Now More Than 30
More than 30 people were killed in twin jihadist attacks on Wednesday evening, police in central Somalia say.
The police chief for the Beledwyne district, Colonel Isak Ali Abdulle, told state television that the first attack used a suicide bomber, killing the local MP Amina Mohamed Abdi and several of her guards.
The second came from an explosive-laden vehicle, detonating a blast so powerful it destroyed a hospital and businesses nearby, causing mass casualties.
It followed an earlier assault on the international airport outside the capital, Mogadishu, in which eight people including five foreigners died.
The al-Shabab militant group has said it carried out both attacks.
There’s been a recent increase in al-Shabab attacks as Somalis vote in parliamentary elections.
Source: BBC