On Saturday, a truck bomb exploded in the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, and killed at least 189 people, injuring 200 more, FOX News reported. A terrorist group al-Shabab, which is famous for committing terrorist acts in the populated regions of the capital, is considered to be responsible for the explosion but has not commented on the attack yet.

Who is responsible for the attack?

Al-Shabab is a jihadist fundamentalist group, which pledged allegiance to the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda. For more than ten years, Somalia has been fighting with the insurgency of Islamist extremists.

The US has been providing Somalia with various counterterrorism operations, but the latest attack, which was the deadliest of the battles, demonstrated that the US efforts did not stop the extremists, the Washington Post reported.

The US officials announced that it was a "cowardly" attack and claimed that the US would assist Somali and African Union partners in the fight against terrorism. For the first time, under Donald Trump's presidentship, the US enforcement has improved their efforts against the al-Shabab, based in Somalia.

Details of the deadliest terrorist attack

The extremists exploded two bombs in the crowded area of Mogadishu. The first truck bomb killed most of the nearby residents, and the second one caused the deaths of more locals not far from the first attack.

According to Police Capt. Mohamed Hussein, many wounded people died at Mogadishu hospitals from their injuries, the New York Times reported. Thousands of people volunteered to donate blood for the injured. President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed also donated blood and appealed for Somali residents to join him. Medical workers are assisting the victims, many of whom suffered severe burns.

Among the dead was one freelance journalist and others were injured, including Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulle of Voice of America. The Red Cross officials stated that at least four volunteers also died as a result of the terrorist attack.

According to Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, the extremist group targets only civilians. Abdirahman Omar, the information minister of Somalia, claimed on the radio that they had to unite against the terrorist group.

On Saturday night, relief workers had been searching for any people still alive under the ruins of the damaged Safari Hotel, situated near Somalia's foreign ministry.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED