Turkey announces death toll and injured in blast outside Mogadishu

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has issued a statement on the bombing in Hawa Abdi area on the road between Mogadishu and Afgoye.

A statement from the ministry confirmed that the blast targeted Turkish workers and engineers working on the construction of a tarmac road between Mogadishu and Afgoye.

A statement from the ministry said the blast killed four people, including a Turkish officer, and wounded four others.

“We are deeply saddened to hear the news of a terrorist attack on a Turkish company in the early hours of this morning that killed four people, including a Turkish national, and we are closely monitoring the situation. 4 Turkish nationals, ”said a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Turkish government has also condemned the bombing of its engineer working for the Somali people, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would continue to stand by its ally Somalia.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it attacked white officers on the outskirts of Mogadishu, killing a Turkish official and wounding others.

“The death is a Turkish officer and two others were injured,” they said in a statement, adding that they had killed two Somali Federal Government soldiers.

The Federal Government, particularly the security services, has not yet commented on the attack, and nearly 10 explosions have been reported on the Mogadishu-Afgoye highway in the last four years, aimed at halting road construction.

Construction of the road, which began in 2018, is funded by the Qatari government and stopped last year after a car bomb killed nearly 90 people, including two Turkish workers on December 28, 2019, although it was rebuilt. begins