Incident

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Incident

Explosions inside a Somali mosque kill at least 30

01 May 2010 17:33 (UTC +04:00)

The blasts in the Bakara market went off while people were sitting inside the Abdala Shideye mosque waiting for noon prayers. The bombings highlight the increasingly violent path Somali militants are taking following an influx of insurgents into the country from the Afghanistan conflict, fighters who are now training Somali militants.

Most of the victims were worshippers, said businessman Ahmed Abdulle, a witness.

"The first one occurred at the back of the mosque and the other one at the front. I saw the dead bodies of at least 11 people and 18 injured," said a businessman, Ismaâ€™il Dahir. "The blood stained the walls and human flesh was scattered everywhere."

Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishuâ€™s ambulance service, said at least 30 people were killed and 70 wounded. Abdullahi Haji Ilmi, a witness, said he counted 32 bodies.

A high-ranking member of Somaliaâ€™s most powerful militia, al-Shabab, was said to be inside the mosque during the explosions. It was not immediately known whether Fuad Mohamed Qalaf survived the bombings.

Qalaf is among 11 people whose assets were recently frozen by the United State for involvement in terrorism.

"Sheikh Fuad used to teach religious lessons at the mosque every Saturday. He was there when the blasts went off. The whole area was cordoned of by scores of al-Shabab militants. Nobody could get inside," said another businessman, Farhan Alin.

An al-Shabab spokesman, Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, blamed the attack on the work of "foreign security companies" whose aim, he said, was to massacre Muslims. Rage offered no proof for his allegation.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the first such bombing of a mosque in Somalia. A bombing took place outside a mosque in Bakara earlier in the week, killing two people.

Bakara market is the countryâ€™s main market, and despite tensions in the country, it is bustling with business. The area is controlled by the rebel groups al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam.

The U.N.-backed Somali government views the market as rebel stronghold. Over the last three years the market has seen near-daily shelling between militants and African Union and Somali soldiers. Hundreds of people have been killed in the violence.

Islamic insurgents control much of Mogadishu and have been trying to topple the fragile government for three years. Somalia has not had an effective government for nearly 20 years.