Triple car bombing attacks in central Somalia kill at least 20

An attack by Islamic extremist al-Shabab fighters on Somali government headquarters in Beledweyne, a town more than 300 km north of Somalia’s capital, on Monday (3 October) has left 20 dead and 36 wounded.
Witnesses said two vehicles loaded with explosives detonated in the morning, and a third in the afternoon. “Heavy and disastrous explosions in Beledweyne district have killed people including government officials, civilians and soldiers,“ said Bishar Hussein Jimale, Beledweyne police commissioner. Jimale said the attacks were planned by al-Shabab, killing civilians, soldiers and officials, including the deputy commissioner of finance in the Hiran region and MPs and ministers in Hirshabelle. Jimale added that rescue operations were still in progress, working to find injured people who are trapped as well as to recover bodies.
But local residents showed defiance, with one of them saying that “this will not frighten us even if they kill hundreds or millions. We still believe that we are fighting because it is Jihad (holy war) for the sake of Allah, these terrorists might make us scared but we will fight you to the death.“ The attacks come barely a day after the Somali government announced the death of a senior al-Shabab commander identified as Abdulkadir Nadir in an airstrike in the Middle Juba region. Nadir, who served as al-Shabab’s finance chief was touted to replace the group’s leader Ahmed Diriye, or Abu Ubaidah, who is reported to be sick. He had a $3 million bounty on his head from the U.S. government. The Somali government described Nadir’s killing as a “thorn removed from the Somali nation.”