Sharjah 24: Thirteen people were killed and 20 others wounded in central Somalia on Saturday after a suicide bomber drove a truck packed with explosives towards a security checkpoint in the town of Beledweyne, police said.
"We have recovered the dead bodies of 13 people, most of them civilians who stayed nearby," Ahmed Yare Adan, a local police officer, said.
"Around 20 wounded people were already taken to hospitals, and we believe the number of the casualties could rise," he said.
The attack, which damaged nearby buildings, trapping people under the debris, came after Somalia's beleaguered government admitted to suffering "several significant setbacks" in its fight against Al-Shabaab terrorist group.
The terrorist militants have waged an insurgency for over 15 years to overthrow the fragile internationally-backed government in Mogadishu.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday's bombing.
Police officer Abdukadir Yasin, who rushed to the scene after the blast, said rescuers were pulling injured victims to safety from under the rubble.
"The destruction caused is immense, more than ten dead bodies were confirmed already and the death toll can be higher," he said.
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