Somali death toll rises to 358 as country plans ‘state of war’

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Thousands of anguished Somalis gathered to pray Friday at the site of the country’s deadliest attack, while the toll rose to 358 and dozens remained missing.

Meanwhile, Somalia’s president will announce a “state of war” against the al-Shabab extremist group blamed for the bombing, the prime minister said.

The United States is expected to play a supporting role in the new offensive that President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed is set to launch Saturday, a Somali military official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

Somalia’s army spokesman Capt. Abdullahi Iman said the offensive involving thousands of troops will try to push al-Shabab fighters out of their strongholds in the Lower Shabelle and Middle Shabelle regions where many deadly attacks on Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, and on Somali and African Union bases have been launched.

Also Friday, the U.S. military said it had resumed its fight against al-Shabab with a drone strike.

The extremist group has not commented on last Saturday's truck bombing in Mogadishu, which Somali intelligence officials have said was meant to target the city's heavily fortified international airport where many countries have their embassies. The massive bomb, which security officials said weighed between 1,300 pounds and 1,700 pounds, instead detonated in a crowded street after soldiers opened fire and flattened one of the truck's tires.