Saturday January 14, 2023
Beledweyne (HOL) - Al Shabaab has killed at least 30 people in a triple suicide bomb attack in Hiiraan's Buluburte and Jalalaqsi districts on Saturday.
The blast in Buluburte district was set off by an Al Shabaab suicide bomber near the town's main mosque. Authorities believe that at least 18 people - including 14 civilians - were killed in that attack. Many of the victims were inside the mosque during the blast.
On Saturdays, residents from Jalalaqsi, Halgan and other surrounding districts converge in Buluburte to conduct business.
Almost simultaneously in the nearby Jalalaqsi district, Al Shabaab suicide bombers
attacked a checkpoint near a bridge manned by Somali government soldiers and Djibouti troops part of the ATMIS operation. The first blast killed one person and gravely wounded six others.
Government troops fired upon a second suicide car bomb before exploding in the street. Residents said that a group of students were very close to the car bomb and that at least eight people were killed in the second blast.
Last August, federal government forces and allied clan militias began an offensive against Al Shabaab, successfully liberating communities across Hirshabelle.