The US military has carried out airstrikes in Somalia that they say killed four al-Shabaab terrorists, in response to a car bombing in Mogadishu which left at least 81 people dead.
The strikes came in coordination with the Somalian government and targeted al-Shabaab militants responsible for “terrorist acts against innocent Somali citizens”, according to a US military statement.
No-one has claimed responsibility for the bombing on Saturday but Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, Somalia’s president, has blamed al-Shabaab, which is known to carry out such attacks.
The extremist group was pushed out of Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, several years ago but continues to launch attacks at high-profile locations, such as checkpoints and hotels in the city.
UN experts monitoring sanctions on the country warned earlier this year that al-Shabaab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, had learned how to make its own explosives.
“Since al-Shabaab’s first external attack in 2010, the group has ruthlessly killed hundreds,” Major General William Gayler, director of operations for US Africa Command, said in a statement.
“They are a global menace and their sights are set on exporting violence regionally and eventually attacking the US homeland.”
The group controls parts of Somalia’s southern and central regions and has been the target of a growing number of US airstrikes since Donald Trump took office.
Al-Shabaab was blamed for a truck bombing in Mogadishu in October 2017 which killed more than 500 people, although the group never claimed responsibility for the attack.
“This explosion is similar like the one ... in 2017,” Abdurrahman Yusuf, a witness to Saturday's bombing, told AP.
“This one occurred just a few steps away from where I am and it knocked me on the ground from its force. I have never seen such an explosion in my entire life.”
At least 125 people were injured in the blast on Saturday, a Mogadishu ambulance service official said, and hundreds of residents have donated blood in response to appeals.
Omar Mohamud Mohamed, the capital’s mayor, has said most of those killed in the attack at a busy security checkpoint were students returning to classes.
The location of the bombing reflects al-Shabaab’s weakened ability to execute attacks following tougher security measures which have been introduced in Mogadishu, according to a Somalian security expert.
“It feels like they literally knew that their [car bomb] may not proceed through the checkpoint into the city undetected, considering the additional obstacles ahead, so bombing the busy checkpoint in a show of strength appeared to be an ideal decision,” Ahmed Barre told AP.
Additional reporting by AP
