Turkish military cargo plane to evacuate wounded after Mogadishu blast

A Turkish military cargo plane reportedly landed in Somali on December 29 to evacuate people who were wounded in a truck bombing in the city a day before that reportedly killed 90 people including 17 police officers and two Turkish nationals. According to international media reports, the plane brought emergency medical staff and supplies as well to transfer it to a Turkish-run hospital in Mogadishu. While talking to local media outlets, Somali Information Minister Mohamed Abdi Hayir Mareye said that ten badly injured Somalis would be evacuated to Turkey, further adding that they had sent 24 doctors as well to treat those wounded who could not be evacuated. 

According to international media reports, Turkey has been a leading aid provider to the country since 2011 famine in Somalia. Saturday's blast is also believed to be the deadliest in war-torn Somalia in more than two years. In a separate statement, the Somali Foreign Minister informed that the deceased included many students and two Turkish nationals. The injured were transported to Medina Hospital through ambulance cite reports. A nurse at the hospital told the media that the facility had received more than 100 wounded people. The site of the blast was cleared by the rescuers who carried the bodies past the twisted wreckage of a vehicle and a minibus taxi. 

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Al-Shabaab suspected behind the blast

Until now no one has claimed the responsibility of the blast. Yet the area is constantly under attacks by Al Qaeda-linked Islamist group Al-Shabaab which regularly carries out such attacks in an attempt to undermine the government. The deadliest attack in Somalia occurred in 2017 when a bomb-laden truck exploded next to a fuel tanker in Mogadishu, creating a storm of fire that killed nearly 600 people. Such attacks have become common in the area over the years. Yet the death tolls are often lower than in Saturday’s blast. This is not the first time the group hasn't claimed the responsibility of the blasts. Earlier in 2009, there was a bombing at a graduation ceremony for medical students which remained unclaimed. 

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