A truck packed with explosives blew up at a crowded intersection on the outskirts of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, on Saturday morning, killing and injuring scores of people.
At least 79 people have been killed and 149 people have been injured, according to CNN.
No group has claimed responsibility for the strike, but similar attacks have been carried out in Somalia by al-Shabaab, a terrorist organization with ties to al-Qaeda. The group has carried out a number of lethal attacks in Somalia in the past year, including storming a hotel in Mogadishu with gunmen earlier in December, and is believed to be behind a 2017 Mogadishu bombing that killed 587 people.
The story is still developing. Here’s what we know, and don’t, so far.
What we know:
The intersection at which the attack took place is called Ex-control Junction, and it connects the capital to the rest of southern Somalia.
The Somali foreign minister has said that many students and two Turkish nationals are among the dead.
Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu expressed his government’s condolences on Twitter, writing, “May Allah’s mercy be upon our 2 citizens and innocent Somali brothers&sisters who lost their lives in the heinous terrorist attack.”
What we don’t know:
Who is behind the attacks. Some early reports stated the terror group al-Shabaab had taken responsibility for the attack, but these reports have since been revised. Like ISIS, the group sometimes claims responsibility for attacks without evidence of its involvement.
The total number of casualties. There are some conflicting reports — an international organization speaking on the condition of anonymity has told Reuters that the death toll has reached at least 90 people.
Why the attack took place at this location, and whether there was a specific rationale behind this attack.
