Tipsheet

More Than 300 Killed in Truck Bomb Attack in Somalia

Christine Rousselle
Christine Rousselle  |  October 16, 2017 1:10 PM

The death toll in Saturday's car bombing in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, has topped 300, with hundreds more injured. The attack was blamed on the group al-Shabaab, an Islamic jihadist militant organization in the country that is associated with al-Qaeda. This is one of the deadliest terror attacks in the region in years and is the worst-ever attack in Somalia.

The death toll is expected to rise in the coming days as people are still unaccounted for. Due to local burial customs and the sheer intensity of the blast incinerating people entirely, it may never be possible to accurately come up with a final tally. 

Authorities say that the attack consisted of a truck that was packed with "several hundred kilograms of military-grade and homemade explosives," that was then detonated in front of a hotel near the country's foreign ministry. The truck sped through a checkpoint, crashed through a barrier, and then exploded. The explosion also hit a fuel tanker, which increased the devastation. 

Video taken after the explosion shows a completely leveled city with just shells of buildings left standing.

Somalia's president has ordered three days of mourning throughout the country in response to the attack.

Recommended

Biden's Advisers Push to Doing Something We All Knew Was Coming Matt Vespa
One Bystander Shouted an Epic Phrase as State Police Moved Against Pro-Hamas Thugs at UVA Matt Vespa

Many people have criticized the relative lack of media coverage and social media response to this massive terrorist attack.

Toronto Mayor John Tory announced that the city will pay tribute to the victims of the attack by lighting the city's Toronto sign in the colors of the Somalian flag.