The suicide attack was carried out in Beledweyne, in the Hiiraan region. The attack, which targeted a checkpoint, caused the collapse of several buildings.
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On social networks, images show a street filled with rubble. The attack was carried out using a truck loaded with explosives, launched at a Somali special forces checkpoint. According to police, at least 13 people are dead and more than 40 are injured, some seriously. The victims are mainly civilians.
The explosion was such that surrounding buildings collapsed, particularly businesses and homes, local media reported. At the end of the day, emergency services were still searching for residents buried under the rubble. “ The entire area was destroyed “, said the governor of the Hiiraan region, Abdulahi Ahmed Malim.
The attack was not claimed, but it occurred as the government launched a military offensive in the center of the country more than a year ago against the Shebab group, affiliated with al-Qaeda. Beledweyne is located in Hiraan, a region in central Somalia, the central region of this government offensive.
Supported by local clan militias, government forces managed to liberate strategic towns and roads. But despite support from the African Union force and US military airstrikes, Somali authorities alerted the UN this week that they had suffered “ several significant setbacks “. They also asked the United Nations to postpone for three months the withdrawal of African Union troopsthe Atmis force of 3,000 soldiers, normally scheduled for the end of the month.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud assured Saturday through official media that the government would continue the fight against the Shebab Islamists. He offered his condolences to the victims and their families.
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