Casualties feared as car bombing rocks central Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia

Dozens are feared dead after a car bombing on Friday ripped through the central Somali town of Beledweyne.

Local security officer Abdirahman Hassan Ibrahim told Anadolu over the phone that the explosion was the result of car bomb, adding that the number of casualties remains unclear.

"The explosion was massive and could be heard far away from the city. We don't know how many have been killed or injured but we expect multiple casualties," he said.

Footages taken in the aftermath of the blast showed massive destruction.

Beledwayne is the provincial capital of Somali's central province of Hiran, which has been the epicenter of an uprising against the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group al-Shabaab.

While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, former Hirshabele state President Mohamed Abdi Ware suggested that al-Shabaab was behind it.

These are "the actions of a detestable and vile group in its last days. We condemn it in the strongest possible terms," he said on X, formerly Twitter.

Al-Shabaab insurgents have been fighting the government and African Union peacekeepers in Somalia since 2007, claiming other recent deadly bombings.