Al-Shabaab militants have claimed responsibility for Tuesday morning’s deadly attack on a government complex in Mogadishu, Somalia. According to reports, a truck packed with explosives and scrap metal slammed into the gates of the complex and exploded.
A spokesman for the Somali police said several buildings in the complex, which housed government ministries, have collapsed. Local health official say at least 55 people were killed. The majority of the dead were parents and students who were at the education ministry to register for a program in Turkey, according to Lt. Col. Paddy Nkunda, an African Union forces spokesman. Several Somali soldiers were also among the dead. An unknown number of people were severely wounded.
Nkunda said al-Shabaab militants have been largely forced out of Mogadishu, but the group continues to launch attacks on the capital. "They left the city but they are now moving into asymmetrical attacks -- suicide bombings, snipers, and kidnapping and other non-conventional means. We are here to stop Al-Shabaab so we are very concerned and we condemn this barbaric attack on innocent students and their parents,” he said.
Al-Shabaab still controls large parts of southern Somalia. The group’s goal is to overthrow the government and enforce a strict form of Sharia law throughout the country.
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