Sat28Dec Mogadishu truck bomb kills 90+ innocent Somalis

[TonyGosling]

see Somalia: Blackwater XE CIA Africom black-op training zone http://www.911forum.org.uk/board/viewtopic.php?t=16262

Suicide bomber kills more than 90 people including foreigners in attack on checkpoint in Mogadishu
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7832121/More-20-killed-includ ing-foreigners-Mogadishu-car-bombing.html

A 'devastating' blast ripped through a security checkpoint close to a taxation office in Mogadishu today
Mogadishu Mayor said at least 90 civilians, including students and two Turkish nationals, had been injured
The founder of a Mogadishu ambulance service counted the death toll at 76 and said it was likely to rise
In early December militants sparked a seven-hour gunfight when they stormed an upmarket hotel in the city
By RYAN FAHEY and JAMES WOOD FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 07:40, 28 December 2019

An explosion at a busy checkpoint in Somalia's capital Mogadishu today killed at least 90 people and wounded dozens, according to an international agency working inside the country.

Rescuers carried dead bodies past the twisted wreckage of a vehicle and minibus taxis smeared with blood.

'The number of casualties we have confirmed is 76 dead and 70 wounded, it could still be higher,' the director of the private Aamin Ambulance services, Abdukadir Abdirahman Haji said.

The blast took place at the Ex-Control checkpoint, a tax collection centre in Mogadishu, and comes amid persistent insecurity in the Horn of Africa nation.


The injured were transported to Medina Hospital, where a witness saw dozens arriving by ambulance from the scene.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast though it is similar to past attacks by al Qaeda-linked Islamist group al Shabaab.

The fundamentalist militants regularly carry out such attacks in an attempt to undermine the government, which is backed by the United Nations and African Union troops.

Mayor Omar Mohamud Mohamed, speaking at the scene, said at least 90 people were wounded, including children.



Two Turkish brothers were among the dead, Somalia's foreign minister said.

The checkpoint is also a tax collection point for the government, Ali Abdi Ali Hoshow, a foreign affairs ministry official, said on Twitter.

Most of those killed were university and other students returning to class, Mayor Omar Mohamud Mohamed said at the scene.

Three other witnesses said that a small team of Turkish engineers were present at the time of the blast, constructing a road from the checkpoint into the city.

The witnesses said that a car belonging to the engineers was destroyed instantly in the blast. It was not clear whether the engineers survived.

Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad later confirmed on Twitter that two of the Turkish engineers died in the blast.

Many of the dead were 'students with ambition, and hardworking men and women', he wrote.

Turkey's foreign ministry confirmed the death of two of its nationals.

Turkey has been a major donor to Somalia since a famine in 2011, and together with the government of Qatar is funding a number of infrastructure and medical projects in the country. In 2017, Turkey opened a military base in Mogadishu to train Somali soldiers.



Turkey has been a major donor to Somalia since a famine in 2011, and together with the government of Qatar is funding a number of infrastructure and medical projects in the country.

The checkpoint is also a tax collection point for the government, Ali Abdi Ali Hoshow, a foreign affairs ministry official, said on Twitter.

Al Shabaab has also carried out attacks in east African countries such as Kenya and Uganda.

The most deadly attack blamed on al Shabaab was in October 2017 when a bomb-laden truck exploded next to a fuel tanker in Mogadishu, creating a storm of fire that killed nearly 600 people.

The group has sometimes not claimed responsibility for attacks that provoked a big public backlash, such as a 2009 suicide bombing of a graduation ceremony for medical students.

Police described the blast as 'devastating' and photos from the scene showed the mangled frames of vehicles.

A large black plume of smoke rose above the capital in the aftermath of the attack.

'The blast was devastating, and I could confirm more than 20 civilians killed, there were many more wounded, but the toll can be higher,' police officer Ibrahim Mohamed said.

Another officer said the blast targeted a tax collection center as Somalia returned to work after its weekend.

'I have counted twenty-two dead bodies, all of them civilians and there were more than thirty others wounded, this was dark day,' said Ahmed Moalim Warsame, who witnessed the explosion.

The explosion occurred in a busy area prone to heavy traffic due to a security checkpoint and a taxation office.

'This was a devastating incident because there were many people including students in buses who were passing by the area when the blast occurred,' said another witness Muhibo Ahmed.

Sakariye Abdukadir, who was near the area when the car bomb detonated, said the blast 'destroyed several of my car windows.'

'All I could see was scattered dead bodies [...] amid the blast and some of them burned beyond recognition.'


Police described the blast as 'devastating' and at least 90 civilians, mostly students, are believed to have been injured in the explosion (pictured, a wounded civilian)


After the sound of the explosion, 55-year-old Sabdow Ali, who lives nearby, said that he had left his house and counted at least 13 people dead.

'Dozens of injured people were screaming for help, but the police immediately opened fire and I rushed back to my house,' he said.

The police were not reachable for comment on casualty numbers.

Government authorities have told medical personnel not to disclose figures as they have done in the past, and journalists are forbidden from going to attack sites.

Somalia has been riven by conflict since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew dictator Siad Barre, then turned on each other.

Mogadishu is regularly hit by car bombs and attacks waged by Al-Shabaab Islamist militants allied to Al-Qaeda.

The group was forced out of the Somali capital in 2011 but still controls parts of the countryside and has also staged attacks in neighbouring Kenya.

The militant group emerged from the Islamic Courts Union that once controlled central and southern Somalia and is variously estimated to number between 5,000 and 9,000 men.

In 2010, the Shabaab declared their allegiance to Al-Qaeda.

In 2011, its fighters fled positions they once held in the capital Mogadishu, and have since lost many strongholds.

But they retain control of large rural swathes of the country and continue to wage a guerrilla war against the authorities.

Two weeks ago five people were killed when al-Shabaab attacked a Mogadishu hotel popular with politicians, army officers and diplomats in an hours-long siege.

Since 2015, there have been 13 attacks in Somalia with 20 or more killed, 11 of which have been in Mogadishu, according to a tally of AFP figures. All of them involved car bombs.

The latest attack again raises concern about the readiness of Somali forces to take over responsibility for the Horn of Africa country's security in the coming months from an African Union force.

Al-Shabab, the target of a growing number of U.S. airstrikes since President Donald Trump took office, controls parts of Somalia's southern and central regions.

It funds itself with a 'taxation' system that experts describe as extortion of businesses and travelers that brings in millions of dollars a year.


A year of blood: Al-Shabab's 2019 Somalia attacks

February 28, 2019: - Al-Shabab insurgents set off a bomb, tearing the façade from a government hotel in central Mogadishu. Militants storm the building and open fire on guests. Hostages are kidnapped and used as human shields. The death toll reaches 29 and 80 were injured.

March 23, 2019: Gunmen charge an official building in Mogadishu and kill five, including a government minister. Police arrive and a gunfight and an hours-long gunfight erupts. 15 people died during the confrontation.

May 22, 2019: A car bomb is detonated by members of al-Shabab at a checkpoint near the presidential palace in Mogadishu. Nine people were killed and another 13 injured.

June 15, 2019: Al-Shabab carries out a series of coordinated city-wide attacks in the country’s capital. A car bomb explodes near the Somali parliament headquarters, killing at least eight people and injuring 16. Militants set off a separate roadside bomb, hitting a police car and killing 11 of the policemen inside. A bomb explodes on a road near the country’s airport but no casualties were reported.

July 13, 2019: A hotel in Kismayo is stormed by gunmen as a suicide bomber detonates the bomb in his car. 26 were killed in the attack and more than 50 were wounded. The attack was reported to have lasted more than 14 hours.

July 15, 2019: Three al-Shabab extremists are gunned down by border police after they detonated an IED on the Kenyan-Somali border. There were no fatalities in the attack but two officers were injured.

July 22, 2019: 17 people were killed and 28 injured when a lone al-Shabab militant detonated a vehicle near a busy junction in Mogadishu. The fundamentalist militants claimed responsibility soon after, claiming the attack was revenge for the killing of a senior intelligence officer, Mohamed Nur Ikhlaas, in a US airstrike just days earlier.

July 24, 2019: A meeting at the mayor’s office in Mogadishu is interrupted by the detonation of a bomb. Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman dies from the wounds sustained in the blast with five more killed and six seriously injured.

August 14, 2019: A new military camp set up by the Somalian military is ambushed with gunmen and car bombs, killing three people.

September 14, 2019: The extremists target a region of southern Somalia, using RPGs and heavy machine guns in one city, killing nine. During another attack, they fire mortars as the prime minister visits the city of Marka. Though the PM escapes, two civilians are killed.

Somali security forces guard the entrance to the SYL hotel which was attacked by al-Shabab Islamic extremist rebels on Tuesday night, in Mogadishu, Somalia Wednesday, December 11, 2019 +31
Somali security forces guard the entrance to the SYL hotel which was attacked by al-Shabab Islamic extremist rebels on Tuesday night, in Mogadishu, Somalia Wednesday, December 11, 2019

September 15, 2019: The extremists detonate a remote-controlled bomb, targetting a governor in convoy. Two were killed and four injured.

September 30, 2019: A car bomber and a group of gunmen strike the Bale Dogle airfield in southern Somalia but no casualties are reported. The airfield is used by the US military to fight the extremist group. A car bomb is detonated on the same day in Mogadishu but misses the targetted Italian peacekeeping troops and injures an unknown number of Somalians.

October 13, 2019: Al-Shabab launches mortars into the UN and African Union buildings in Mogadishu, injuring seven. On the same day, the militants lob a grenade at the deputy governor’s house, killing him and his son. Though unconfirmed, Somali officials have linked Al-Shabab to the attack.

December 7, 2019: A commuter bus is besieged in Wajir county, killing at least 10 and injuring an unknown amount of civilians.

December 10, 2019: Gunmen storm the upmarket SYL hotel in the capital. The siege attack turned into a gunfight when security forces responded, with fighting lasting for seven hours. The attackers are shot dead by police.

[Whitehall_Bin_Men]

Defense secretary draws up plans to pull troops out of anti-terror operations in West Africa in first move by Pentagon to meet Donald Trump's promise to end the 'endless wars'

By Afp and Nikki Schwab, Senior U.s. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com
15:49, 24 Dec 2019 , updated 21:24, 24 Dec 2019
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7825081/US-considers-pulling- troops-West-Africa-report.html

The Pentagon is mulling a plan to reduce or withdraw troops completely from West Africa, The New York Times reported Tuesday
President Trump has long promised to end the 'endless wars,' though this move would reposition troops, not shrink U.S. forces
There are between 6,000 and 7,000 American troops in African, who are mainly in West Africa, but also Somalia
The Pentagon is looking into reducing or even withdrawing US troops from West Africa, part of a worldwide redeployment of military forces.

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The New York Times reported Tuesday that Defense Secretary Mark Esper is looking at proposals and won't make a decision before January.

There are between 6,000 and 7,000 US troops in Africa, mainly in West Africa but also in places like Somalia.

President Trump's Defense Department is thinking about pulling troops out of West Africa, The New York Times reported Tuesday, as the administration's priorities have moved from terrorist groups in Africa, to checking large powers like Russia and China
President Trump's Defense Department is thinking about pulling troops out of West Africa, The New York Times reported Tuesday, as the administration's priorities have moved from terrorist groups in Africa, to checking large powers like Russia and China
Defense Secretary Mark Esper is deciding whether to keep American troops in West Africa, or pull them out entirely as President Trump has pledged supporters to end the 'endless wars'
Defense Secretary Mark Esper is deciding whether to keep American troops in West Africa, or pull them out entirely as President Trump has pledged supporters to end the 'endless wars'
American infantry soldiers are photographed during a combined training exercise with Senegalese paratroopers in Thies, Senegal, in July 2016. Defense Secretary Mark Esper is mulling a complete pullout of U.S. troops from Africa
American infantry soldiers are photographed during a combined training exercise with Senegalese paratroopers in Thies, Senegal, in July 2016. Defense Secretary Mark Esper is mulling a complete pullout of U.S. troops from Africa
The US presence includes military trainers as well as a recently built $110 million drone base in Niger, the Times said.

A withdrawal would also end US support for French military efforts in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in their war along with local troops against Al-Qaeda and Islamic State group jihadists.

The Pentagon supports them by providing intelligence, logistical support and aerial refueling at an annual cost to the Pentagon of some $45 million a year, the Times said.

France has had a major military presence in Mali since 2013, when it launched an intervention against Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists who had overrun the country's north.

France then launched a regional counter-terrorism operation and prodded five countries -- Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, Mali and Niger -- to set up their own joint force.

Esper is studying a global redeployment of US forces with a decreased emphasis on anti-terrorism operations and a stronger emphasis on confronting China and Russia, the newspaper said.

The Pentagon had no immediate comment when contacted by AFP.

President Trump has often promised to halt the country's 'endless wars.'

He has already ordered a significant reduction of US troops deployed in Syria, and is on track to do the same in Afghanistan.