MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) – The death toll from three deadly bombings in Somali Capital, Mogadishu has risen to over 52, paramedics confirmed.
On Friday, three cars laden with Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) were detonated near a popular hotel which is not far from the country’s CID headquarters.
The blasts, which occurred within minutes of each other, targeted Mogadishu’s Sahafi Hotel and its surroundings.
The suicide bombers tried to storm through a hole blown into the hotel’s wall but did not succeed in entering, said police officer Muhamed Hussein.
“Although they failed to access the hotel, the blasts outside the hotel killed many people,” said Hussein.
“The street was crowded with people and cars, bodies were everywhere,” Hussein Nur, a shopkeeper, told The Associated Press. “Gunfire killed several people, too.”
According to VOA, doctors, and administrators of the five hospitals in the city that mainly treat the victims of gunshots and explosions — Medina, Darul Shifa, Erdogan, also known as the Digfer, Kalkaal and Somalia Sudanese Hospital have put the death toll at 52 and injuries of 106 others.
Police official Ibrahim Mohamed who also confirmed the rise of the death toll told AFP that information received from various hospitals indicated that the number of dead had reached 41, with another 106 wounded.
“Most of these people were civilians and nearly 20 of them died in minibuses that were passing by the road when the blast occurred,” he added.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attacks.
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