Dead and wounded in two car bomb explosions in central Somalia attributed to the "Al-Shabaab" movement

Somalis carry the body of a man killed at the site of an earlier explosion near a hotel in Mogadishu.

Archive, Reuters

At least 35 people were killed and several others injured in two simultaneous car bomb attacks in a town in central Somalia yesterday, attributed to the Al-Shabaab terrorist movement, according to security officials and witnesses.

A senior police official told Reuters that the death toll from the two car bomb attack in the Hiran region had risen to 35. The two attacks were carried out yesterday morning in the town of Mahas, about 300 km from the capital, Mogadishu, in the Hiran province, where a massive offensive against al-Shabaab began. Months ago, led by clan forces and the Somali army. This new bloody attack shows that militants are still able to strike in the heart of Somali cities and military installations.

"The terrorists attacked the town of Mahas, using two booby-trapped vehicles, targeting a civilian area, and we confirmed that 35 people, all civilians, were killed in the two explosions," Abdullah Adam, a local security official, told AFP by phone.

According to eyewitnesses, the two explosions occurred near a restaurant adjacent to a building belonging to the Mahas district administration.

A witness, Adam Hassan, said, "I saw the bodies of 10 civilians, some of them women and children. It was a horrific attack."

Mahas police chief Osman Nour said that "innocent civilians" were killed in the bombings, accusing Al-Shabaab of targeting civilians.

In a statement, the Al-Shabab movement's media office announced the movement's responsibility for the two attacks, saying that they targeted "militias and soldiers."

Al-Shabaab has carried out repeated attacks in the past few months, including attacks on government facilities and hotels in the capital, Mogadishu.

The Al-Shabaab movement, linked to the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization, is fighting the federal government, which enjoys the support of the international community.

Although they could be driven out of the main cities in 2011-2012, the rebels are still spread over vast rural areas.

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