Witnesses and residents said they heard two loud blasts in quick succession followed by heavy gunfire. The attackers then stormed the building and exchanged gun fire with security forces, Abdi Hassan, a local police official said.
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“There were two huge bombs”.
A suicide bomber firstly tore through busy Dayaha market, followed by another vehicle bomb packed full of explosives, which reportedly caused inferno.
Puntland government officials have yet to detail exact fatalities from the twin explosions thought to be the deadliest in restive Galkayo. “My brother was injured at the scene”. Puntland, a semi-autonomous state in northern Somalia, controls the northern part of the town, while the southern part is controlled by rival regional state Galmudug.
The witnesses said suspected suicide bomber detonated the explosive device inside the local government office in Galkayo, killing 15 people and wounded unknown number.
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There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Al-Shabaab, an affiliate of al-Qaeda working to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu, is expected to violently disrupt elections that are to be held in September and October. “Terrorist attacks will not stop 2016 electoral process”, UNSOM said via its Twitter account.
