Somalia Car Bombing: Death Toll Climbs to 81, Others Still Missing

By Staff, Agencies

The death toll from a massive car bomb in the Somali capital climbed to 81, a government spokesman said Monday, as rescue workers pursued their search for those missing.

The bombing Saturday at a busy intersection in Mogadishu was the country's deadliest attack in two years.

Although no one has claimed responsibility yet, Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed blamed terrorist group Al-Shabaab, which has regularly carried out car bombings and other attacks as part of its decade-long bid to topple the internationally-backed government.

"The overall number of the dead stands at 81 currently. Two more people died from their injuries," Ismail Muktar, a spokesman for Somalia's information ministry, told AFP Monday.

One of the new fatalities was among the injured who had been evacuated to Turkey via a Turkish military plane on Sunday, Muktar said.

Muktar said the death toll could climb further as rescue operations entered a third day.

Around two dozen people were listed as missing after the attack, but 12 have been located - five of them dead - and the rest remain unaccounted for, he said.