Huge explosion hits Somali capital Mogadishu
Saturday October 14 2017
Heavy smoke is seen billowing from the area where a truck bomb exploded in Somali capital Mogadishu. PHOTO | ABDULKADIR KHALIF
More than 20 people were killed and several injured when a vehicle exploded at a busy road junction in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday afternoon, police said.
"Initial reports from emergency departments indicate more than 20 bodies picked up off the street and many more are under the wreckage of buildings destroyed by the blast," said Ibrahim Mohamed, a senior police officer.
Government security official Mohamed Aden said a truck loaded with explosives detonated at the K5 intersection.
"There was a huge blast caused by a truck loaded with explosives. It went off at the entrance of a hotel alongside the K5 intersection," he said.
The area, known as Zoppe, is lined with government offices, hotels, and shops.
Witnesses said the blast, which threw a thick cloud of smoke into the sky that could be seen across the city, badly damaged a hotel and left scenes of devastation on the busy road.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Al-Qaeda aligned Shabaab carries out frequent suicide bombings in the capital and elsewhere as it fights to overthrow the internationally-backed government.
Story updated. More follows