At least 15 people were killed Wednesday in a double suicide car bombing carried out by the Al Shabaab terrorist group in the central Somali city of Mahas, local media reported.
According to information gathered by the Hiiraan Online news portal, the car bombs are said to have reached Mahas through the Wahbo area in Galgadud, an area controlled by the Al Shabaab terrorist group after the army withdrew in mid-November after briefly seizing it shortly before.
The target of the first explosion was a house containing officials leading operations against Al Shabaab in the area, although it is not known whether they were inside at the time of the attack.
The second explosion also took place at the house of the governor of Mahas, Mumin Mohamed Halane, who was unharmed, according to the Jowar portal. Halane himself said in statements to the Somali state news agency SONNA that the attacks had caused a large number of victims and material damage, although he declined to comment on the death toll.
Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the double suicide bombing in a message published through its propaganda channels, as reported by SITE Intelligence Group, an organization specialized in tracking terrorist groups.
Somali President Hassan Shaykh Mohamud said Monday that 2023 will be the year «of liberation» amid increased offensives against Al Shabaab, which has ties to the Al Qaeda terrorist organization. The president himself said in early December that Al Shabaab «is history» and called on the population to «support the liberation operations».
Somalia has in recent months stepped up offensives against Al Shabaab with the support of local clans and militias as part of a series of decisions taken by the president, who pledged on taking office to put the fight against terrorism at the center of his efforts to stabilize the African country.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
