- Title: Somalian president reassures nation after deadly truck bomb attack
- Date: 28th December 2019
- Summary: MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (DECEMBER 28, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SECURITY PERSONNEL AND AMBULANCES AT THE BLAST SITE
- Embargoed: 11th January 2020 20:34
- Keywords: Horn of Africa Mogadishu Qaeda-linked Islamist group Somali al Shabaab car bomb
- Location: MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
- City: MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
- Country: Somalia
- Topics: Bombing (non-military),Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA002BBW2EYV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Somalian President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo reassured his country on Saturday (December 28), that Somalia would not be demoralised after a bomb-laden truck exploded earlier in the day at a busy checkpoint in Mogadishu, killing at least 90 people according to an international organisation working in the country.
The roadside bombing was the deadliest attack to hit Somalia in more than two years, further raising security concerns in the Horn of Africa.
Saturday is a working day in the Muslim country and the explosion occurred during the morning rush hour. Rescuers carried bodies past the twisted wreckage of a vehicle and a minibus taxi smeared with blood.
A report by the international organisation, which did not want to be named, said the death toll was more than 90 and that university students and 17 police officers were among those killed. A Somali MP also tweeted that he had been told the death toll stands at more than 90.
No-one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast but the city's mayor blamed al Qaeda-linked Islamist group al Shabaab.
(Production: Jackson Njehia, Michael Fiorentino) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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