MOGADISHU: Nine people, including senior regional officials, were killed in twin car bombings claimed by Al-Shabaab in central Somalia on Monday, police said, as the government escalates an offensive against the Islamists.
Two cars packed with explosives were detonated minutes apart outside local government offices in Beledweyne, a city at the heart of recent offensives against the al-Qaeda-linked militants who control swathes of Somalia. "The initial information we have received confirms the death of nine people" including a state minister and a commissioner, said Mohamed Moalim Ali, a local police commander.
The health minister of Hirshabelle state -- where Beledweyne is located -- and a deputy district commissioner were among the dead, Ali added, with 10 others injured in the "suicide attacks."
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