A bomb hidden in a clothes-cart rammed into a classroom in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Monday, killing at least eight people and injuring 13, local officials said.
The blast, which occurred near the Somali Ministry of Education, killed a child and injured at least six other children. Eight other people were wounded, the officials said.
Muse Farah, the spokesman for Somalia’s emergency services, said that 22 people had been hospitalized, with three in serious condition.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. But in the past, Islamist militants, including al-Shabab, have targeted schools in Somalia.
Al-Shabab, which last year became the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, initially claimed responsibility for the attack in a tweet.
The group’s militants have killed thousands in Somalia in recent years. Last year, they pushed al-Shabab’s allies, Amniyat, out of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, but they still carry out regular attacks. The Amniyat maintains a strong presence in the southern part of the country.
The United States has warned that the rising risk of car bombings targeting educational institutions could contribute to “vulnerable Somali children being killed and injured in an attack that will be seen globally.”
Read the full story at The New York Times.
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