Twin bombs kill 200 in Somalia

MORE than 200 people were killed and 300 injured by two bomb blasts at busy junctions in the heart of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu.

A truck bomb exploded on Saturday outside a hotel at an intersection lined with government offices, restaurants and kiosks, flattening several buildings and setting dozens of vehicles on fire.

Two hours later, another blast struck the busy Medina district.

A spokesman for the city’s mayor said: ‘We understand the death toll is higher. Many people are still missing.’

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, although the Islamist militant group al Shabaab, which is allied to Al Qaeda, stages regular attacks in the country.

The militants were driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 and have been steadily losing territory since then to the combined African Union peacekeepers and Somali security forces.