Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Bombing detailed as Somalis march
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali intelligence officials shared a detailed account of the country’s deadliest attack, and thousands marched Wednesday in Mogadishu in a show of defiance against the extremist group blamed for Saturday’s truck bombing that left more than 300 dead and almost 400 wounded.
Two people have been arrested in the attack that was meant to target Mogadishu’s heavily fortified international airport, where several countries have their embassies, the officials said. The truck bomb, weighing between 1,300 pounds and 1,700 pounds, went off far short of its goal.
The truck bomber had an accomplice driving a smaller car, a Toyota Noah minivan packed with explosives that took another route, according to a Somali intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Security forces stopped the vehicle at a checkpoint near the airport, forcing the driver to park and get out.
As soldiers questioned the driver, the minivan detonated. Wearing red headbands, a crowd of mostly young men and women gathered at a Mogadishu stadium and shouted slogans against al-Shabab, which has long targeted the seaside city but has not commented on the attack.
At least three people, including a pregnant woman, were injured after security forces opened fire while trying to disperse protesters marching toward the truck-bombing site, police Capt. Mohammed Hussein said.