Somalia's Deadliest Bomb Attack In Decades

More than 300 people have been killed, and a further 300 injured in a truck bomb in Mogadishu, the Somalian Ministry of Information announced early this morning.

The Somali government has blamed Al-Qaeda affiliated Islamist terrorist group Al-Shabaab for the deadly attack, which took place on Sunday evening.

The explosion was clearly visible from the United Nations' base in the capital where a number of British troops are helping with training and engineering projects. 

There were no British casualties. 

The video shot from the base, where more than 80 British personnel are stationed, showed the scale of the blast. A huge mushroom cloud of smoke was seen rising from the area in which it took place.

The 300 wounded were admitted to different hospitals in Mogadishu.

The death toll makes the attack one of the deadliest terrorist atrocity in sub-Saharan Africa. It is larger than the Garissa University attack in Kenya in 2015 and the US Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed declared three days of national mourning in response to the bloodshed.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a statement:

“The UK condemns in the strongest terms the cowardly attacks in Mogadishu, which have claimed so many innocent lives.

“Those responsible have shown no regard for human life or the suffering of the Somali people. The UK will continue to support Somalia in the fight against terrorism.”

“Those responsible have shown no regard for human life or the suffering of the Somali people. The UK will continue to support Somalia in the fight against terrorism.”

Funerals for those killed in the attack have now begun, with the death toll expected to rise further.

Officials said more than 70 critically injured people are being airlifted to Turkey for treatment as international aid began to arrive.

Hospitals in Mogadishu are reportedly overwhelmed and struggling to help wounded victims, many of whom are burned beyond recognition.

Information Minister Abdirahman Osman said other countries including Kenya and Ethiopia had already offered to send medical aid in response to what Somali's government has called a "national disaster".

Dr Mohamed Yusuf, the director of Medina hospital said: 

"This is really horrendous, unlike any other time in the past."

The United States has condemned the bombing, saying:

"Such cowardly attacks reinvigorate the commitment of the United States to assist our Somali and African Union partners to combat the scourge of terrorism".

The US military has stepped up drone strikes and other efforts this year against Al-Shabab, which is also fighting the Somali military and more than 20,000 African Union forces in the country.