An estimated 14 people were killed and another 30 wounded by a car bomb in the Somali capital city of Mogadishu on Sunday. The explosion happened in a crowded intersection, with shrapnel hitting nearby food stalls and shops.
"I was staying in my shop when a car came into the market and exploded. I saw more than 20 people lying on the ground," said an eyewitness named Abdulle Omar. "Most of them were dead and the market was totally destroyed." Most of those killed are believed to be civilians, though Somali security forces were also in the area.
No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far, though it was likely perpetrated by al Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked Islamic extremist group that seeks to overthrow the Somali government. On Sunday, al Shabaab in a radio message denounced Somalia's new president, who holds dual U.S. and Somali citizenship, as an "evil-minded" "apostate" whom Somalis should not support.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.