276 KILLED

AT LEAST 276 people were killed in the truck bombings that rocked Somalia’s capital over the weekend, making it the deadliest attack the country has seen since Islamic terrorists began their assault a decade ago.

First responders in Mogadishu pulled bodies from the rubble of buildings on Sunday, still rushing survivors to hospitals as they assessed the damage and warned that the death toll could rise.

Hospitals in the area were quickly overwhelmed, as more than 300 people were wounded when bombers targeted a crowded street near hotels and government affairs buildings.

“This is really horrendous, unlike any other time in the past,” said Dr. Mohamed Yusuf, director of Medina hospital.

The smell of blood permeated the hallways of the center.

A teary-eyed Hawo Yusuf looked at her husband’s badly burned body.

“He may die waiting,” she told The Associated Press. “We need help.”

Somalia’s government blamed the Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabab extremist group for what it called a “national disaster.”

Until Saturday’s bombings, the deadliest atrocity the group carried out was the 2015 massacre at Garissa University in Kenya.

Gunmen stormed the university at dawn and slaughtered 148 people.

The terrorists said they targeted the school because Kenya has sent troops into Somalia.

Al Shabab, which is made up of an estimated 8,000 fighters, controls large swaths of rural areas west of Mogadishu and continue to stage attacks in the government-run capital.

The capital is long accustomed to deadly bombings by the group. But residents were left stunned by the force of Saturday’s blast.

The explosion shattered hopes of recovery in an impoverished country left fragile by decades of conflict, and it again raised doubts over the government’s ability to secure the seaside city of more than 2 million people.

“They don’t care about the lives of Somali people, mothers, fathers and children,” Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire said of the attackers.

“They have targeted the most populated area in Mogadishu, killing only civilians.”

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed declared three days of mourning and announced new military efforts against the group before joining thousands of people who rushed to donate much-needed blood.

“I am appealing for all Somali people to come forward and donate,” he said.

As people struggled to process the carnage left in the wake of the explosions, somber stories of victims began to emerge.

Amino Ahmed said one of her friends, a female medical student, was killed on the eve of her graduation.

A couple returning from a hospital after having their first child were also caught in the blasts, said Dahir Amin Jesow, a Somali lawmaker.

“It’s a dark day for us,” he said.