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| Africa Horn |
| Explosions inside a Somali mosque kill at least 30 |
| 2010-05-01 |
| TWO bombs exploded inside a mosque in Mogadishu's main market, killing 30 people and injuring 70 more, in the first Iraq-style bombing inside a house of worship in Somalia. The blasts in the Bakara market went off while people were sitting inside the Abdala Shideye mosque waiting for noon prayers. The bombings highlight the increasingly violent path Somali militants are taking following an influx of insurgents into the country from the Afghanistan conflict, fighters who are now training Somali militants. Most of the victims were worshippers, said witness Ahmed Abdulle. "The first one occurred at the back of the mosque and the other one at the front. I saw the dead bodies of at least 11 people and 18 injured," said a businessman, Isma'il Dahir. "The blood stained the walls and human flesh was scattered everywhere." Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu's ambulance service, said at least 30 people were killed and 70 wounded. Abdullahi Haji Ilmi, a witness, said he counted 32 bodies. A high-ranking member of Somalia's most powerful militia, al-Shabab, was said to be inside the mosque during the explosions. It was not immediately known whether Fuad Mohamed Qalaf survived the bombings. Qalaf is among 11 people whose assets were recently frozen by the United State for involvement in terrorism. "Sheikh Fuad used to teach religious lessons at the mosque every Saturday. He was there when the blasts went off. The whole area was cordoned of by scores of al-Shabab militants. Nobody could get inside," said another businessman, Farhan Alin. An al-Shabab spokesman, Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, blamed the attack on the work of "foreign security companies" whose aim, he said, was to massacre Muslims. Rage offered no proof for his allegation. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the first such bombing of a mosque in Somalia. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #6 gotta love the secondaries... one of the unfortunate side effects of worshiping at the armory and ammo-dump. |
| Posted by: abu do you love 2010-05-01 19:56 |
| #5 the media acts like relgion is just a shuck here in the West, but the Center of Life(tm) in the muzz world. It's the 'National Geographic Effect'. Religion gets viewed as a cultural-peculiarity, a kind of bone-through-the-nose thing. Which is also likely why black churches in the US escape the usual derogatory treatment. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2010-05-01 15:49 |
| #4 Yeah, TW, the media acts like relgion is just a shuck here in the West, but the Center of Life(tm) in the muzz world. If church was dangerous here, I'd skip it, and you know it's happening there... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2010-05-01 14:54 |
| #3 How many Somalis will quietly drop away from the religion because of this, as happened in Iraq? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-05-01 13:15 |
| #2 Storing explosives in Mosques + hair rays, Steve. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2010-05-01 11:02 |
| #1 Red on Red? Red wire/green wire mix-up? Electrostatic discharge? Evil djinns? Aw, what does it matter! It is all the Will of Allah and it sucks to be you. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-05-01 10:33 |