Over 100 people killed in car bomb attacks in Somali capital

Over 100 people killed in car bomb attacks in Somali capital

People walk amidst destruction at the scene, a day after a double car bomb attack at a busy junction in Mogadishu, Somalia Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. Somalia's president says multiple people were killed in Saturday's attacks and the toll could rise in the country's deadliest attack since a truck bombing at the same spot five years ago killed more than 500. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

At least 100 people have been killed and 300 wounded in two car bombs that went off outside the Education Ministry in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, the country’s president said.

The first of the explosions hit the education ministry near a busy junction in Mogadishu. The second occurred as ambulances arrived and people gathered to help the victims.

“Our people who were massacred … included mothers with their children in their arms, fathers who had medical conditions, students who were sent to study, businessmen who were struggling with the lives of their families,” Reuters reported, citing President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, although the president blamed al Shabaab. Al Shabaab typically avoids claiming responsibility for attacks that results in large numbers of casualties.