adminstudents and parents crowded around to learn about scholarships, killing at least 70 people and wounding dozens, officials said.
It was the deadliest bomb attack in Somalia by al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked group that began its insurgency five years ago.
It also was the first significant attack in the capital since al-Shabab withdrew most of its gunmen in August amid an offensive by African Union forces, which is protecting the UN-backed government.
The truck blew up at a security checkpoint at the entrance to the Ministry of Education, said Ali Hussein, a police officer in Mogadishu. After the thunderous blast, blackened corpses were sprawled on the debris-strewn street amid burning vehicles. One woman used a blue plastic bucket to pour water on a smouldering body. Abdiqadir Muhyadin, who works at the information ministry, lost a finger in the explosion. He said the vehicle initially appeared to have lost control and smashed through the security barrier before it exploded at the gate.
“Dozens of dead bodies and human flesh were scattered all over the area. A dead body fell over me,” he said. Ali Abdullahi, a nurse at Medina hospital, said they were treating people with amputated limbs and burns, and patients who became blinded. – AP.
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