AU calls on world for help, as death toll in Somali blast soars
Mogadishu — The death toll from a truck-bomb blast in Somalia’s capital climbed to 276 people, as the African Union urged greater international backing for the government’s fight against extremists. The explosion, the nation’s deadliest single attack, injured 300 others, according to an e-mailed statement by the Information Ministry. The blast occurred on Saturday in Mogadishu’s busy central K5 Junction area, damaging buildings including the popular Safari Hotel, according to witnesses. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Somalia’s army, with the backing of an AU force and increased US support, is trying to quash al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group that has waged a decade-long war to impose its version of Islamic law in Somalia. While the group was driven out of Mogadishu in 2011, it still stages regular gun and bomb attacks. "The barbaric attack points to a trend in which areas known for vibrant activity and thriving businesses are targeted," the AU...
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