At least 20 people were killed and 36 others wounded in the central Somali town of Beledweyne Monday in the explosions of three car bombs, witnesses said.
Two of the explosions took place at around 10:30 a.m. local time, followed by a third car bomb in the afternoon.
Residents told a VOA reporter in Beledweyne that the first two vehicles targeted Lama-Galaay miliary base which also serves as the local government headquarters in the eastern district and hosts the offices of the deputy leader of Hirshabelle state and the governor of the Hiran region.
The third car bomb exploded while headed for the same target where the two explosions took place earlier in the day.
Among those killed in the morning explosions are the deputy governor of Hiran region Abukar Sheikh Madey and the region’s health minister Zakariye Mohamed Ahmed.
The al-Shabab militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Beledweyne, about 300 kilometers north of Mogadishu, has been the center of a recent local community mobilization against al-Shabab. Local officials including the governor of Hiran region, Ali Jeyte Osman, led community forces who fought alongside Somali government forces, seizing dozens of villages from the militant group.
