A truck bomb detonated at a checkpoint in the central Somali town of Beledweyne on Saturday, resulting in the deaths of at least 10 individuals and causing extensive damage to nearby structures, according to a police officer.
The party responsible for the attack was not immediately identified, but the Islamist group al-Shabaab is known for carrying out bombings in the Horn of Africa nation on a regular basis.
“So far I have seen 10 dead people including soldiers and civilians and over a dozen others injured, but the death toll is sure to rise,” police officer Ahmed Aden told media.
Beledweyne is situated in the Hiran region of central Somalia, which has recently experienced clashes between the military and al-Shabaab militants.
Aden stated that among the casualties were five police officers who attempted to stop the truck from ramming the checkpoint by opening fire on it, but their efforts were unsuccessful. He also mentioned that nearby buildings and shops, as well as the checkpoint itself, were completely destroyed, reduced to rubble.
Halima Nur, a woman who was in the vicinity, informed media that her niece and others had been inside a nearby shop and were currently unaccounted for. She expressed her distress, saying, “I do not know what to say, all the kiosks are now just rubble. I can’t trace my niece.”
Al-Shabaab has been engaged in a conflict with Somalia’s central government for over a decade, with the objective of establishing its own rule characterised by a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.
