A massive car bomb yesterday exploded in a busy area of the Somalian capital, Mogadishu, leaving at least 76 people dead and scores injured, an ambulance official said.
The blast occurred in a busy area of the city where traffic is heavy because of a security checkpoint and a tax office.
The wounded were carried on stretchers from the site, where the force of the explosion left charred and twisted remains of vehicles.
Mogadishu is regularly hit by car bombings and attacks waged by al-Shabaab militants allied with al-Qaeda.
“The number of casualties we have confirmed is 76 dead and 70 wounded, it could still be higher,” said Abdukadir Abdirahman Haji, director of the private Aamin Ambulance service.
Police officer Ibrahim Mohamed described the explosion as “devastating.”
Mogadishu Mayor Omar Mohamud Mohamed told a news conference that the exact number of dead was not yet known, but that about 90 people were wounded.
“We will confirm the exact number of the number of the dead later, but it is not going to be small. Most of the dead were innocent university students and other civilians,” he said.
“This was a devastating incident, because there were many people, including students, in buses who were passing by the area when the blast occurred,” witness Muhibo Ahmed said.
Sakariye Abdukadir, who was near the area when the car bomb detonated, said that the blast “destroyed several of my car windows.”
“All I could see was scattered dead bodies … amid the blast and some of them burned beyond recognition,” he said.
No group had yesterday claimed responsibility for the attack.
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