Local government headquarters and emergency responders targeted in Galkayo, leaving at least 20 people dead.
At least 20 people have been killed and several others wounded in two suicide blasts in the central Somali town of Galkayo, according to a Somali health official.
The first vehicle explosion on Sunday targeted the local government headquarters; the second targeted emergency services at the scene of the first blast.
“There were two huge bombs. The first one was a truck bomb, followed a minute or so [later] by another car bomb. My brother was injured at the scene,” Halima Ismail, a local resident, told Reuters news agency.
Al-Shabab, the armed group fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu, claimed responsibility for the blasts.
The UN mission in Somalia condemned Sunday’s explosions. “Terrorist attacks will not stop 2016 electoral process,” UNSOM said via its Twitter account.
Somalia is scheduled to hold elections later this year.
The attack comes in Galkayo comes just days after Somali security services captured a wanted al-Shabab commander there.
US-trained commandos called Danab arrested Abdulah al-Sudani and four other suspected fighters.
