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At least 78 killed in Somalia suicide car bomb, reports

Authorities and rescuers say dozens of other people have also been wounded.
Credit: AP
A truck carries wreckage of a car used in a car bomb in Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019. A truck bomb exploded at a busy security checkpoint in Somalia's capital Saturday morning, authorities said. It was one of the deadliest attacks in Mogadishu in recent memory. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsame)

WASHINGTON — Authorities and international organizations say the death toll from a suicide truck bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia is at least 78 according to CNN. Reuters reports that a Somali MP tweeted the death toll could be as high as 90. 

Dozens of others were wounded and the toll could rise. It was the worst attack in Mogadishu in more than two years, according to the Associated Press.  

Witnesses say the force of the Saturday rush-hour blast reminded them of the devastating 2017 bombing that killed hundreds of people. There was no claim of responsibility for the new blast but the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab group often carries out such attacks. The extremist group now makes its own explosives

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The dead included students and two Turkish nationals, according to the Somali foreign minister. Reuters reports that according to a Somali government official, 17 police officers were also among the dead. 

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