Car Bomb In Somalia Leaves At Least 18 People Dead

A vehicle packed with explosives triggered an explosion at a security checkpoint in the central Somali city of Beledweyne Saturday, killing at least 18 people and injuring 40 others, according to Reuters.

Police officer Ahmed Aden said the death toll of the bombing included five police officers who attempted to stop the truck from colliding at the nearby checkpoint. “So far I have seen 10 dead people including soldiers and civilians and over a dozen others injured, but the death toll is sure to rise,” the police officer told Reuters.

“I do not know what to say, all the kiosks are now just rubble. I can’t trace my niece,” witness Halima Nur said.

BREAKING: At least 20 people were killed in a truck bombing at a taxation and security checkpoint in Beledweyne town. The explosion also destroyed nearby residential areas and a gas station pic.twitter.com/dKfU1KEVrk

— Live From Somalia (@Live_F_Somalia) September 23, 2023

“It was a truck loaded with explosive devices that forcefully passed through the government-manned checkpoint, and a pickup vehicle belonging to security personnel was chasing it when it exploded,” one of the first responders Abdikadir Arba added, The Guardian reported. (RELATED: US Killed Top ISIS Leader In Somalia Counterterrorism Operation)

“Twenty of the wounded have been admitted to Beledweyne hospitals, while another 20 are in critical condition, prompting a request for their airlift to Mogadishu for advanced medical treatment,” Abdirahman Dahir Gure, said the interior minister of Hirshabelle state.

A triple suicide bombing wreaked havoc in the central Mali town of Sevare earlier this year. The explosions, which razed approximately 20 buildings to the ground, resulted in the death of 9 people, with more than 60 individuals sustaining injuries. All those who were killed and wounded in the explosion were civilians.