Islamist militants detonated a truck bomb Tuesday in front of the Ministry of Education in Mogadishu, killing at least 70 people, wounding dozens and shattering a relative calm that had prevailed in the Somali capital for weeks.
The bomb blew up after coming to a halt at a security checkpoint. It left blackened corpses on the debris-strewn street and set other vehicles alight. Uniformed soldiers were seen dragging the wounded away.
Ali Muse, the chief of Mogadishu's ambulance service, told The Associated Press that at least 70 people died and at least 42 others were wounded.
The al-Qaeda -linkedgroup al-Shabab immediately claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack on a website it uses.
It was the biggest attack in Somalia's capital since al-Shabab withdrew most of its forces in August amid an offensive by African Union forces.
The group had been expected to fight back with guerrilla-style attacks, including car bombs. Several car bombs have been defused or exploded before reaching their targets in recent weeks.
The bombsite in Mogadishu (Photo: AP)
Ali Hussein, a police officer in Mogadishu, said the vehicle blew up after pulling up to a checkpoint at the entrance to the Ministry of Education.
Suicide bombings were unheard of in Somalia before 2007 but have become increasingly frequent. Al-Shabab claims allegiance to al-Qaeda, which often uses car bombs and appears bent on gaining a foothold in the Horn of Africa.
Somalia has endured mostly anarchy for the last two decades. Peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi compose the AU force that is shoring up the weak UN-backed Somali government. The nation is gripped by famine, which is mostly effecting southern parts of the country controlled by al-Shabab.