At least 13 dead after twin bombings in Somalia

A government building in central Somalia was targeted by militant Islamist group al-Shabab killing over a dozen civilians as attacks on government areas escalate.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab

21 August, 2016

The Al-Shabab group

At least 13 people were killed and several others injured by two al-Shabab-claimed suicide blasts at a government building in the central Somali town of Galkayo, according to a local health worker.

Police reported that the majority of the fatalities were students and local traders who were at a nearby market when the al-Qaeda linked suicide bombers struck.

"There were two huge bombs. The first one was a truck bomb, followed a minute or so [later] by another car bomb. My brother was injured at the scene," local resident Halima Ismail told Reuters.

After the explosions, attackers entered the building and a gunfight broke out between them and local police, a local police official said.

The al-Shabab was pushed out of Somalia's capital Mogadishu in 2011, but attacks by the militant group on military, political and civilian targets continue and aimed at undermining the internationally-backed Somali government.

In recent months, they have claimed attacks on bases of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

The United States has in recent years launched numerous drone strikes against al-Shabab leaders.