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Death toll from Somali mosque blast reaches 39
[Al Arabiya Latest] Two explosions at a mosque in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Saturday killed 39 worshippers, wounded scores more and hurt a senior member of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab rebels.It was the second attack this week on a mosque in Bakara Market, an area of Mogadishu dominated by members of the country's two main rebel groups, al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam. Saturday's attack was at the Abdalla Shideye mosque which is used by al-Shabaab officials to deliver speeches. Most of the dead were said to be members, officials and commanders of the hard-line rebel group. Relatives bent over dead bodies in a corner of the mosque below walls pockmarked by shrapnel. Outside, sheets of cardboard covered other victims and the wounded were pushed on wooden wheelbarrows to awaiting ambulances. Some witnesses said a senior leader of al Shabaab, Fuad Mohamed Khalaf, was the target. Khalaf, also known as Fuad Shongole, is on a list of people in Somalia subject to U.N. sanctions because of their involvement in the conflict. "Thirty-two people died and more than 70 were wounded in the attack," Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim Bilaal, a senior al-Shabaab official, told Reuters. "Sheikh Fuad suffered wounds on the hands.
Nurses at Daynile hospital said seven of the badly wounded subsequently died, taking the death toll to 39.
Posted by: Fred 2010-05-04 |
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