Bombing at Checkpoint in Somalia Kills at Least 15 People, Authorities Say

In this grab taken from video, smoke billows after an explosion in Beledweyne, Somalia, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. (AP)
In this grab taken from video, smoke billows after an explosion in Beledweyne, Somalia, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. (AP)
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Bombing at Checkpoint in Somalia Kills at Least 15 People, Authorities Say

In this grab taken from video, smoke billows after an explosion in Beledweyne, Somalia, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. (AP)
In this grab taken from video, smoke billows after an explosion in Beledweyne, Somalia, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. (AP)

An explosives-laden vehicle detonated Saturday at a security checkpoint in the central Somalia city of Beledweyne, killing at least 15 people and wounding 40 others, authorities said.

Abdifatah Mohamed Yusuf, the director-general of the Hirshabelle Ministry of Humanitarian and Disaster Management, confirmed the deaths.

“Twenty of the wounded have been admitted to Beledweyne hospitals, while another 20 are in critical condition, prompting a request for their airlift to Mogadishu for advanced medical treatment,” he said.

Hirshabelle is a state that includes Beledweyne, which is the capital of the Hiran region and has been the center of the Somali government’s latest military offensive against extremists from East Africa’s al-Qaeda affiliate, al-Shabaab.

Images on social media showed black smoke billowing and a smashed truck cab blazing at the checkpoint.

Dr. Suleyman Abdi Ali, the director of Beledweyne General Hospital, said the bodies of 10 victims were brought to his hospital.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility from al-Shabaab, which often carries out such attacks and controls parts of Somalia.



Ceasefire Agreement Between Lebanon, Israel to Continue Until Feb. 18

People carry an injured person on a road leading to their village after a confrontation with Israeli soldiers positioned in Meis al-Jabal, Marjayoun District, southern Lebanon, 26 January 2025. EPA/STR
People carry an injured person on a road leading to their village after a confrontation with Israeli soldiers positioned in Meis al-Jabal, Marjayoun District, southern Lebanon, 26 January 2025. EPA/STR
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Ceasefire Agreement Between Lebanon, Israel to Continue Until Feb. 18

People carry an injured person on a road leading to their village after a confrontation with Israeli soldiers positioned in Meis al-Jabal, Marjayoun District, southern Lebanon, 26 January 2025. EPA/STR
People carry an injured person on a road leading to their village after a confrontation with Israeli soldiers positioned in Meis al-Jabal, Marjayoun District, southern Lebanon, 26 January 2025. EPA/STR

The White House and caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Sunday that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend the deadline for Israeli troops to depart southern Lebanon until Feb. 18.

Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Sunday opened fire on protesters demanding their withdrawal in line with the ceasefire agreement, killing at least 22 and injuring 124, Lebanese health officials reported.

Hours later, the White House said there had been an agreement to extend the deadline for the Israeli army to depart southern Lebanon until Feb. 18, after Israel requested more time to withdraw beyond the 60-day deadline stipulated in the ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hezbollah war in late November.

Israel has said that it needs to stay longer because the Lebanese army has not deployed to all areas of southern Lebanon to ensure that Hezbollah does not reestablish its presence in the area. The Lebanese army has said it cannot deploy until Israeli forces withdraw.

The White House said in a statement that “the arrangement between Lebanon and Israel, monitored by the United States, will continue to be in effect until February 18, 2025.” It added that the respective governments “will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after October 7, 2023.”

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government, but Mikati confirmed the extension.

The announcement came hours after demonstrators, some of them carrying Hezbollah flags, attempted to enter several villages to protest Israel’s failure to withdraw from southern Lebanon by the original Sunday deadline.

The dead included six women and a Lebanese army soldier, the Health Ministry said in a statement. People were reported wounded in nearly 20 villages in the border area.