Fifteen killed in Somalia bombing

August 3, 2008

According to witness reports, a bombing in the Somali capital of Mogadishu has killed fifteen people, including ten women who were cleaning the street at the time of the attack. Farah Abdi, one of the witnesses, said that "it was an ugly scene with blood everywhere. I could not count the dead, I just glanced at once and I ran away for my life." No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, although BBC News states a possible link with Islamist insurgents, who are currently fighting the Ethiopian troops.

A spokesperson for the local hospital reported that 35 wounded people were admitted to their hospital, most of them woman or children.

Hasan Abdi Mohamed, another eyewitness, also described the scene at the time of the blast. "They [the victims] were cleaning the street when this huge explosion rocked the entire neighbourhood," he said. "I counted 15 bodies, most of them are women who were torn to pieces."

The attack come after a period of a low level of violence caused by a peace deal that was signed between the government and insurgents.

According to the United Nations, one and a half million people have left Somalia to escape from the violence, which, according to one estimate, has resulted in eight thousand civilians being killed since January 2007.