According to eyewitnesses, the explosions took place near a restaurant, a short distance from a local government building
Nine people were killed and many others injured in a twin car bomb attack on Tuesday morning in the central Somalia community of Mahas, security sources and eyewitnesses said.
The attack, attributed to jihadists from the Shebab (“Youth”) group, was carried out in this community in Hiran province despite large-scale operations that began several months ago involving mainly tribal paramilitary groups and the federal army.
At least 15 killed in twin car bombings in Mahas town, central #Somalia. pic.twitter.com/Q4Swi4MOe6
— GAROWE ONLINE (@GaroweOnline) January 4, 2023
“Terrorists attacked Mahas town (yesterday) morning with vehicles loaded with explosives. They targeted a civilian zone and we have confirmed that nine people, all civilians, were killed in the two explosions,” Abdullahi Adan, a security officer in the area, told AFP by phone.
According to eyewitnesses, the explosions took place near a restaurant, a short distance from a local government building.
“I saw the bodies of nine civilians, including women and children. It was a horrific attack,” said one of them, Adan Hasan.
A police officer in Mahas, Osman Noor, said the two blasts resulted in the killing of “innocent civilians”, accusing the Shebab of targeting civilians after its defeats in the operation by government forces.
Shabaab pledges allegiance to al-Qaeda and has been waging a guerrilla war since 2007 to overthrow the Western-backed federal government. Its fighters were driven in 2011-2012 from the country’s main cities — including Mogadishu — but remain entrenched in vast areas in the provinces from where they launch frequent and deadly attacks on security forces, government officials and civilians, especially in the capital.
In early July, paramilitary tribal groups in Hiran rose up against Shebab. The government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, which declared in the summer that “total war” would be launched against the jihadist group, sent federal troops into the province in September to support the paramilitaries.
The operation, which is also supported by the African Union Force in Somalia (ATMIS) and the US, has allowed the recapture of vast areas in two states in the central part of the country, Hirsabel – which includes Hiran province – and Galmudug.
The insurgents are retaliating with frequent, deadly attacks, underscoring that they retain the ability to strike the heart of cities and Somali military installations.
On October 29, two car bombs exploded minutes apart in the capital Mogadishu, killing 121 people and injuring 333. It was the deadliest attack in the Horn of Africa country in five years. years.
A triple attack in Balanduene, the capital of Hiran province, killed 30 people, including local officials, in early October.
While in August, at least 21 Mogadishu hotel guests were killed in a spectacular jihadist raid that followed a 30-hour siege.
RES-EMP
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