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    October 04, 2011

Truck Bomb Kills Dozens in Somali Capital

   VOA News
   Residents gather at the scene of a suicide attack along a street in
   Somalia's capital Mogadishu October 4, 2011. Photo: Reuters
   Residents gather at the scene of a suicide attack along a street in
   Somalia's capital Mogadishu October 4, 2011.

   A truck bomb has exploded at a government compound in the Somali
   capital, Mogadishu, killing dozens of people.
   Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu's ambulance service, says the blast
   Tuesday killed more than 60 and injured more than 40 others.
   Witnesses told VOA Somali Service that two suicide bombers drove the
   truck into the compound, which houses eight Somali government
   ministries.
   The al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility
   for the attack.
   A Somali journalist at the scene told VOA that most of the victims are
   students, who came to the Ministry of Education to learn the results of
   exams for potential scholarships in Turkey.
   The Somali government condemned the attack, saying it shows the danger
   from terrorists is not over.
   Al-Shabab pulled its fighters from Mogadishu in August, but continues
   to hold large sections of southern and central Somalia. The group is
   fighting to overthrow Somalia's fragile transitional government in a
   bid to impose a strict form of Sharia, or Islamic law.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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