An ambulance is seen near an explosion site that rocked a military base in Mogadishu, Somalia August 8, 2020. REUTERS / Feisal Omar
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – A huge explosion on Saturday shook a military base in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, near a stadium, killing at least eight people and injuring 14, said emergency workers, and the militant group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility.
Soldiers opened fire after the blast sent clouds of smoke into the air, said Halima Abdisalan, a mother of three who lives near the area.
“We were walking indoors in fear,” she told Reuters. ‘Soon I could see a military pick-up truck speeding and speeding many soldiers covered with blood. I do not know if they were all dead or injured. ”
Army Officer Major Abdullahi Mohamud said it was an attack. “It must be a suicide car bomb. I am transporting victims now,” he said.
The spokesman for the military operations of the al-Shabaab group, Abdiasis Abu Musab, claimed responsibility for the incident, saying, “We have carried out a successful martyrdom operation on a major apostate military base in Mogadishu.”
“The enemy had destroyed many casualties and wounded, military vehicles.”
Somalia has been plagued by deadly violence since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew leaders Siad Barre and then attacked each other.
Since 2008, Shabaab has been struggling to overthrow the internationally recognized central government and establish its rule based on its own interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.
Report by Abdi Sheikh; Additional reporting by Feisal Omar; written by Omar Mohammed; Edited by Gareth Jones; Edited by Gareth Jones and Andrew Heavens
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