MOGADISHU: At least 60 people were killed and dozens others injured
when a truck laden with explosives blew up in front of the Ministry of
Education in the Somali capital, officials said on Tuesday.
According to Somali police, the vehicle blew up after pulling up to a checkpoint at the entrance to the ministry offices.
The al-Qaeda-linked militant group al-Shabab immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on a website it uses.
The
blast has shattered over a month of relative calm in Mogadishu.
Al-Shabab withdrew from the city in August amid an offensive by African
Union forces, and as victims of a famine in the south began flooding
into the city.
Al-Shabab is waging an insurgency against the weak U.N.-backed Somali government. Online
