Over 200 People Killed In Somalia Bombing

[AGBF]

Over 200 people were killed in a double truck bombing in Somalia. Al Qaeda is believed to be behind it. They have recently increased their attacks in Somalia.

Excerpts from an article in "The New York Times" are below.

MOGADISHU, Somalia — The death toll from twin truck bombings in Somalia’s capital rose to more than 200 on Sunday, officials said, as emergency crews pulled more bodies from burned cars and demolished buildings after the Saturday blasts.

Officials called the explosions on Saturday one of the deadliest attacks to hit the capital, Mogadishu, since an Islamist insurgency began in 2007.

The blasts left at least 300 others wounded, and families scrambled to find missing relatives amid the rubble and in hospitals. The toll was expected to rise.

A former internal security minister, Abdirizak Omar Mohamed, said by phone from Erdogan Hospital, where many of the dead and the injured had been taken, that, 'At least 237 people were confirmed killed in yesterday’s attack. There are other people who possibly died of their wounds at other hospitals.'

...

Photos published by the local news media showed scenes of carnage and devastation, with bodies, and bloodied slippers and shoes scattered in the aftermath. Windows of nearby buildings were shattered. Overturned cars burned in the streets.

Some of the victims died in their cars and in public transportation vehicles.

'There was a traffic jam, and the road was packed with bystanders and cars,' Abdinur Abdulle, a waiter at a nearby restaurant, said on Saturday. 'It’s a disaster.'

The United States Mission to Somalia condemned the bombings, calling them 'cowardly attacks' that 'reinvigorate the commitment of the United States to assist our Somali and African Union partners to combat the scourge of terrorism.'

The Qatar Embassy was severely damaged in the explosion, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, adding that the chargé d’affaires had been slightly injured.


The British ambassador to Somalia, David Concar, said on Twitter that the blast had been clearly audible from inside the British Embassy.


He also wrote: 'Such cruel, cowardly acts. My condolences to the families and friends of the killed and injured, and to all Somalis. A time for unity and resolve.'

Erdogan Hospital, one of six hospitals that received wounded victims, said at least 127 people had been brought there for treatment. Senator Abshir Ahmed, the deputy speaker of the upper house of the Federal Parliament, wrote on his Facebook page that he had been told by Dr. Mohamed Yusuf, the director of Madina Hospital, that 218 bodies had been taken to that hospital.

At least 130 had been burned beyond recognition, Mr. Ahmed wrote.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre appointed a 16-member committee, including ministers, civil society leaders and religious leaders, to arrange national funerals for the victims and to provide assistance to the wounded, according to his office.

The blast occurred two days after the head of the United States Africa Command was in Mogadishu to meet with Somalia’s president, and after the country’s defense minister and army chief resigned for undisclosed reasons.

The American military has stepped up drone strikes this year against the Shabab, a group aligned with Al Qaeda that has recently stepped up attacks on army bases across the southern and central parts of the country."



Link to article...https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/15/...ce=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

 

[whitewave]

What did they bomb? A random street and buildings? Horrible

 

[Tekate]

Deb, there are no words. None.

Over 200 people were killed in a double truck bombing in Somalia. Al Qaeda is believed to be behind it. They have recently increased their attacks in Somalia.

Excerpts from an article in "The New York Times" are below.

MOGADISHU, Somalia — The death toll from twin truck bombings in Somalia’s capital rose to more than 200 on Sunday, officials said, as emergency crews pulled more bodies from burned cars and demolished buildings after the Saturday blasts.

Officials called the explosions on Saturday one of the deadliest attacks to hit the capital, Mogadishu, since an Islamist insurgency began in 2007.

The blasts left at least 300 others wounded, and families scrambled to find missing relatives amid the rubble and in hospitals. The toll was expected to rise.

A former internal security minister, Abdirizak Omar Mohamed, said by phone from Erdogan Hospital, where many of the dead and the injured had been taken, that, 'At least 237 people were confirmed killed in yesterday’s attack. There are other people who possibly died of their wounds at other hospitals.'

...

Photos published by the local news media showed scenes of carnage and devastation, with bodies, and bloodied slippers and shoes scattered in the aftermath. Windows of nearby buildings were shattered. Overturned cars burned in the streets.

Some of the victims died in their cars and in public transportation vehicles.

'There was a traffic jam, and the road was packed with bystanders and cars,' Abdinur Abdulle, a waiter at a nearby restaurant, said on Saturday. 'It’s a disaster.'

The United States Mission to Somalia condemned the bombings, calling them 'cowardly attacks' that 'reinvigorate the commitment of the United States to assist our Somali and African Union partners to combat the scourge of terrorism.'

The Qatar Embassy was severely damaged in the explosion, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, adding that the chargé d’affaires had been slightly injured.


The British ambassador to Somalia, David Concar, said on Twitter that the blast had been clearly audible from inside the British Embassy.


He also wrote: 'Such cruel, cowardly acts. My condolences to the families and friends of the killed and injured, and to all Somalis. A time for unity and resolve.'

Erdogan Hospital, one of six hospitals that received wounded victims, said at least 127 people had been brought there for treatment. Senator Abshir Ahmed, the deputy speaker of the upper house of the Federal Parliament, wrote on his Facebook page that he had been told by Dr. Mohamed Yusuf, the director of Madina Hospital, that 218 bodies had been taken to that hospital.

At least 130 had been burned beyond recognition, Mr. Ahmed wrote.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre appointed a 16-member committee, including ministers, civil society leaders and religious leaders, to arrange national funerals for the victims and to provide assistance to the wounded, according to his office.

The blast occurred two days after the head of the United States Africa Command was in Mogadishu to meet with Somalia’s president, and after the country’s defense minister and army chief resigned for undisclosed reasons.

The American military has stepped up drone strikes this year against the Shabab, a group aligned with Al Qaeda that has recently stepped up attacks on army bases across the southern and central parts of the country."



Link to article...https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/15/...ce=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

 

[Calliecake]

This is horrible!

 

[luv2sparkle]

It bothers me that I have heard nothing about this in the news. Perhaps, I have just not been watching enough. It seems like american news is so focused on what happens here and very little about what happens in other places.

Very sad news indeed.

 

[AGBF]

I have not had the television on today, but I have to say that bombings in Muslim countries are not covered with great enthusiasm by the American news media. This matter was discussed here in relation to Turkey if I recall correctly. Perhaps the news media do not believe the American people will be interested in the foreign news, but if they do not cover it, that will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Perhaps it is because people in Muslim countries tend to be yellow, brown, or black. But I may just be in a dysphoric mood.

 

[Calliecake]

I just received a CNN update that no group has taken responsibility for this attack.

 

[AGBF]

I just received a CNN update that no group has taken responsibility for this attack.

There is no doubt, however. The article in "The New York Times" that I excerpted alluded to the renewed activity by al shabab/al Qaeda recently. So does other press.

"Il n’y a pas eu de revendication immédiate bien que le groupe islamiste Al Shabaab, allié à al-Qaïda, perpètre des attaques régulières dans la capitale et dans d’autres parties du pays.

Le groupe mène une insurrection contre le gouvernement soutenu par les Nations Unies et ses alliés de l’Union Africaine dans le but de renverser l’administration et d’imposer sa propre interprétation stricte de l’islam.

Les militants ont contrôlé Mogadiscio entre 2007 et 2011 mais se sont retirés alors que les combats faisaient rage. Les Casques bleus et les hommes de l’Union Africaine les ont également chassés de la plupart des autres territoires qu’ils contrôlaient."

 

[AGBF]

Update: death toll at almost 300.

MOGADISHU, Somalia — When a double truck bombing shattered the night in Mogadishu Saturday, rescue workers began the grim search for survivors that has become all too common as Somalia battles an Islamist insurgency. They picked through burned-out cars and hunted as best they could in a collapsed hotel.

But it was only on Sunday, as emergency workers pulled body after body from the rubble of a nearly leveled downtown street, that the magnitude of the latest attack came into focus. The numbers of dead surged from 20 on Saturday night to more than 270 and counting, according to government officials. More than 300 people were injured.

“This is the deadliest incident I ever remember since ’90s, after the collapse of the former government,” a shaken Senator Abshir Ahmed said in a Facebook posting.

The attack came as the United States under President Trump has made a renewed push to defeat the Shabab, Somali-based militants who have terrorized the country and East Africa for years, killing civilians across borders, worsening famine and destabilizing a broad stretch of the region. While no one had yet claimed responsibility for the bombings, suspicion immediately fell on the group, which frequently targets the capital, Mogadishu.

The Shabab — which once controlled most of the city — has lost much of its territory in recent years, the result of attacks by African Union forces, a fitfully strengthening Somali army and increasing American air power. But the group remains a potent killing force, despite years of American counterterrorism operations.

...​

Some of the militants have proclaimed allegiance to Al Qaeda, while others support the Islamic State.

 

[whitewave]

Didn't the us have 2-4 soldiers recently killed in the area about a week ago? Maybe a different country. I'll have to google.

Eta: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-41507337

We are all worried about N Korea. Maybe we need to pay attention to the jihad activity in Africa.

 

[Arkteia]

I have not had the television on today, but I have to say that bombings in Muslim countries are not covered with great enthusiasm by the American news media. This matter was discussed here in relation to Turkey if I recall correctly. Perhaps the news media do not believe the American people will be interested in the foreign news, but if they do not cover it, that will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Perhaps it is because people in Muslim countries tend to be yellow, brown, or black. But I may just be in a dysphoric mood.

Part of it might be due to the fact that it is difficult to interpret or explain bombings in Muslim countries. But Al-Jazeera should be able to cover these news.

And in general, horrible. RIP, poor victims.

 

[arkieb1]

I think sadly we will see more of these types of attacks as various terrorist groups get more desperate and various armed forces take back land from them and kill more of them.

 

[AGBF]

Part of it might be due to the fact that it is difficult to interpret or explain bombings in Muslim countries. But Al-Jazeera should be able to cover these news.

It should not be so hard to understand that people in an African country who happen to be Muslim do not want to be ruled by people who practice a primitive form of Islam that changes the way they have been used to living in the modern world. Most modern people in Somalia; Pakistan; and Turkey are Muslim, but they are modern people, just as we are in the west (with cultural differences, of course). We do not need Al-Jazeera to understand the people of Muslim countries. They are not a different species that requires study by a group of specialists!

In addition: Al-Jazeera is Arabic. Why would they understand the Turks (who are not Arabs) or the Somalis? Or the Pakistanis? Muslims come in many forms. Al-Jazeera is certainly not the font of all cultural widom!

 

[AGBF]

Why Is Trump Silent About Somalia? Hundreds Were Killed in a Terrorist Attack in Mogadishu...http://www.newsweek.com/why-trump-silent-somalia-hundreds-killed-terrorist-686103

 

[Arkteia]

It should not be so hard to understand that people in an African country who happen to be Muslim do not want to be ruled by people who practice a primitive form of Islam that changes the way they have been used to living in the modern world. Most modern people in Somalia; Pakistan; and Turkey are Muslim, but they are modern people, just as we are in the west (with cultural differences, of course). We do not need Al-Jazeera to understand the people of Muslim countries. They are not a different species that requires study by a group of specialists!

In addition: Al-Jazeera is Arabic. Why would they understand the Turks (who are not Arabs) or the Somalis? Or the Pakistanis? Muslims come in many forms. Al-Jazeera is certainly not the font of all cultural widom!

I like their coverage of events. Two-three years ago it was much better though.

 

[Arkteia]

It should not be so hard to understand that people in an African country who happen to be Muslim do not want to be ruled by people who practice a primitive form of Islam that changes the way they have been used to living in the modern world. Most modern people in Somalia; Pakistan; and Turkey are Muslim, but they are modern people, just as we are in the west (with cultural differences, of course). We do not need Al-Jazeera to understand the people of Muslim countries. They are not a different species that requires study by a group of specialists!

In addition: Al-Jazeera is Arabic. Why would they understand the Turks (who are not Arabs) or the Somalis? Or the Pakistanis? Muslims come in many forms. Al-Jazeera is certainly not the font of all cultural widom!

OK I hope it is simple misunderstanding...

I, personally, don't claim to understand that part of the world. Simply, because I don't speak Arabic, because I never traveled to any Islamic country except for Turkey (postsoviet Central Asia does not count) and because while I once read the thin green book, I didn't get it.

I would respectfully disagree that Islamic countries do not need study by a group of specialists. On the contrary. Some of these specialists are called "arabists", and I wish I read more books published by them, knew the history of Islamic world. But at least I acknowledge that I am uneducated.

It was utter lack of knowledge and understanding, however, that dragged us into that costly mistake, the Iraq invasion. I am not speaking about Bush or Cheney - they followed the smell of money. But how many people at that time sincerely believed that we were bringing Iraq democracy?

(I did not believe it - but only because I lived through USSR invasion of Afghanistan. And I knew the scenario would be approximately the same, getting stuck, and eventually leaving the country to own tribal war. I did not foresee the scope of it, though).

But people around me - they did not understand even this, but thought they did, because they projected own feelings on a very different culture. The politicians who voted for that war - they, too, thought they understood. And the truth was totally opposite.

This is just to point out that some of us have no clue. I don't know about you, maybe you lived in Muslim country long enough to understand.

About Al-jazeera. I like their coverage of events, they were more better 2-3years ago, though.

Sorry if I misunderstood the meaning of your post; English is not my first language

On a regular human note, I feel awfully sorry for the people who ended up in that blast. The pictures are horrifying. I am always thinking how our life depends on randomness; whether we are on time or running late, for example.