Somalia: Death Toll from a Truck Bomb Rises to 21

Security patrol the streets during fighting between al-Shabab extremists and soldiers in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (AP)
Security patrol the streets during fighting between al-Shabab extremists and soldiers in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (AP)
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Somalia: Death Toll from a Truck Bomb Rises to 21

Security patrol the streets during fighting between al-Shabab extremists and soldiers in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (AP)
Security patrol the streets during fighting between al-Shabab extremists and soldiers in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (AP)

The death toll from a bombing attack at a government checkpoint in central Somalia has reached 21, authorities said Sunday.

The number of wounded in Saturday's truck bombing in Beledweyne stood at 52, said Abdifatah Mohamed Yusuf, director general of the Hirshabelle ministry of humanitarian and disaster management.

He told The Associated Press that 17 of those critically wounded were airlifted to the capital, Mogadishu, for treatment.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility. East Africa’s al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabab often carries out such attacks in Somalia.

Beledweyne has been the staging point for the Somali government’s ongoing military offensive against the extremists, who control parts of central and southern Somalia.



Israeli Security Services Arrest Israeli Man over Alleged Iranian-Backed Assassination Plot

File photo: Israeli police block a road leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Saturday. (Reuters)
File photo: Israeli police block a road leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Saturday. (Reuters)
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Israeli Security Services Arrest Israeli Man over Alleged Iranian-Backed Assassination Plot

File photo: Israeli police block a road leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Saturday. (Reuters)
File photo: Israeli police block a road leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Saturday. (Reuters)

Israeli security services said on Thursday they had arrested an Israeli citizen on suspicion of involvement in an Iranian-backed assassination plot targeting prominent people including the prime minister.
It said the person was a businessman with connections in Türkiye who had attended at least two meetings in Iran to discuss the possibility of assassinating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant or the head of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency.
The arrest took place last month, according to a joint statement by Shin Bet and the Israeli police that highlighted the intelligence war running alongside the escalating conflict on Israel's border with southern Lebanon.
Last week, Shin Bet uncovered what it said was a plot by Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to assassinate a former senior defense official, who was subsequently identified as the former army Chief of Staff and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon.
The announcement of the arrest came a day after Hezbollah was hit for a second day by a sophisticated attack that detonated communications equipment remotely, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 450.
Israel has not commented directly on the attack but multiple security sources have said it was undertaken by Israel's spy agency Mossad.