More than 90 people have been killed in a car explosion in the Somali capital city of Mogadishu, lawmaker Abdirizak Mohamed reported via Twitter.
According to Mohamed, 17 police officers, 73 civilians and 4 foreign nationals were among the victims of the blast.
I was informed the death toll stands over 90 including 17 somali police officers, 73 civilians and 4 foreign nationals. May Allah have mercy on the victims of this barbaric attack https://t.co/2c1q4PXE79
— Abdirizak Mohamed MP (@AbdirizakOm) December 28, 2019
Meanwhile, an ambulance service official Abdikadir Abdirahman Haji Aden told AFP that the blast killed at least 76 people, leaving 70 injured. According to the official, the death toll is likely to go up.
Local media previously reported that fifty people, including four Turkish engineers, perished in the incident that occurred near a taxation office.
My heart bleeds for the people of Somalia The carelessness and murdering of civilians has been going on for a long time now..💔 #Mogadishu pic.twitter.com/tDERNRkwrw
— Abdirahim™ (@Abdisontheroad) December 28, 2019
Radio Dalsan said quoting Somali security services that the engineers from Turkey who were killed in the blast could be the main target of attackers.
Somalia has been embroiled in a violent conflict since 1991 and is regularly rocked by bomb attacks carried out by the al-Shabaab group affiliated with al-Qaeda*. The group is seeking to oust the UN-back Somali government.
While the group has been expelled from Mogadishu, it continues to carry out terror acts in the capital.
*Al-Qaeda is a terrorist group banned in Russia
