The death toll in a truck bomb explosion in the central Somali town of Beledweyne has risen to 18, a top regional official has said, as the Horn of Africa nation battles armed groups.
Abdirahman Dahir Gure, the interior minister of Hirshabelle state where Beledweyne is located, announced the latest toll on Saturday in the wake of the blast that targeted a security checkpoint in a residential area.
Abdifatah Mohamed Yusuf, the director-general of the Hirshabelle Ministry of Humanitarian and Disaster Management, said that 40 people were wounded.
“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,” he told The Associated Press.
Earlier, a local police official put the toll at 10 in the blast that comes as the government forces have intensified operations against al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab armed group.
“It was a truck loaded with explosive devices that forcefully passed through the government-manned checkpoint, and a pick-up vehicle belonging to security personnel was chasing it when it exploded,” witness Abdikadir Arba, who said he was about 200 meters (656 feet) away and was one of the first responders, told The Associated Press by phone.
Original from www.aljazeera.com