Context
At least 70 people were killed and more than 50 injured on Tuesday in a suicide blast in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. A truck carrying explosives was rammed into a gate near a government compound. Various government officials including Somalia’s Planning Minister Abdullahi Godah Barreh were present at the time of the attack in the building which houses eight ministries. According to government reports, no senior officials were hurt in the blast. Among those killed were soldiers guarding the offices, and students queued at the education ministry, hoping to gain a scholarship to study in Turkey.
This is the largest attack in the capital since August. The Islamic militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the bombing.
