The first attack in Beledweyne district was carried out by a suicide bomber, and killed two local lawmakers including Amina Mohamed Abdi
\n MOGADISHU
\nThe death toll from twin attacks in central Somalia on Wednesday night has climbed above 30, the Beledweyne district police chief told AFP on Thursday, with the Al-Shabab insurgent group saying it was targeting politicians ahead of elections.
\nThe first attack in Beledweyne district was carried out by a suicide bomber, and killed two local lawmakers including Amina Mohamed Abdi and several of her guards as she campaigned for re-election.
\nMinutes later, a car bomb exploded outside Beledweyne\u2019s main hospital where the injured were being taken for treatment, killing dozens and leaving vehicles in charred, twisted ruins.
\n\u201cThe terrorists carried out the first attack using a suicide bomber and readied a car loaded with explosives in front of a hospital to cause more casualties,\u201d said Col. Isak Ali Abdulle.
\n\u201cWe are still trying to establish the overall number of casualties, but so far we have confirmed that more than 30 people were killed in the second blast alone,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThese were devastating simultaneous attacks which damaged property as well as causing mass civilian casualties.\u201d
\nThe bombings occurred the same day as three people were killed in a separate attack near Mogadishu\u2019s airport that was also claimed by Al-Shabab.
\nThe Al-Qaeda-linked militants frequently target civilian, military and government targets in Somalia\u2019s capital and outside.
\nWitnesses described carnage outside the hospital in Beledweyne.
\n\u201cThe second blast was very huge, it occurred in front of the hospital and my brother and one of our neighbors were among the dead,\u201d said Mahad Yare, a Beledweyne resident.
\nAl-Shabab said it carried out the attacks to target politicians contesting ongoing elections.
\nThe British ambassador to Somalia, Katie Foster, shared her condolences on Twitter, saying: \u201cWe strongly condemn the use of violence to intimidate and disrupt the elections.\u201d
\nThe European Union\u2019s ambassador to the country, Tiina Intelmann, also offered condolences, writing on Twitter: \u201cViolence is not a way forward for #Somalia. #EU condemns terrorism and politically motivated killings.\u201d
\nEarlier on Wednesday, security forces shot dead two gunmen who attempted to storm a heavily fortified area of the Somali capital Mogadishu near the city\u2019s main airport.
\nThe airport complex houses the United Nations, aid agencies, foreign missions and contractors, and the headquarters of the African Union military mission, AMISOM.
\nThree people were killed in that attack \u2014 a policeman, an AMISOM soldier and a civilian.
\nAl-Shabab has been seeking to overthrow the country\u2019s fragile government for over a decade.
\nThe Horn of Africa nation has seen a spate of attacks in recent weeks as it hobbles through a long-delayed election process.
\nSomalia\u2019s key foreign backer, the United States, has already imposed travel sanctions on key political figures for undermining the electoral process.
\nThe lower house election is now due to be completed on March 31, paving the way for lawmakers to pick a president.
\nSomalia\u2019s international backers have warned the election delays distract from the fight against Al-Shabab.
\nThe extremists controlled Mogadishu until 2011 when they were pushed out by AMISOM troops, but still hold territory in the countryside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The first attack in Beledweyne district was carried out by a suicide bomber, and killed two local lawmakers including Amina Mohamed Abdi MOGADISHU The death toll from twin attacks in central Somalia on Wednesday night has climbed above 30, the Beledweyne district police chief told AFP on Thursday, with the Al-Shabab insurgent group saying it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":251188,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4445,5305],"class_list":{"0":"post-251155","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-attacks","9":"tag-somalia"},"yoast_head":"\n