A terrorist attack kills at least 15 people in Somalia

  A truck bomb exploded at a checkpoint in the central Somali town of Beledweyne on Saturday, killing at least 15 people and damaging nearby buildings. A police officer identified as Ahmed Aden said it was not immediately clear who was responsible, but the Al Shabab terrorist group regularly carries out such bomb attacks in the Horn of Africa country. In addition, the police officer said that more than 12 people were injured and added that the number of dead may have increased due to the serious injuries of some people. Beledweyne is located in the center of the Hiran region in Somalia which has recently seen clashes between the military and Al-Shabab. Aden said the dead included five police officers who fired at the truck in a failed attempt to stop it from storming the checkpoint. He added that nearby buildings and shops were destroyed and turned into rubble.

 Al-Shabaab terrorists have been fighting the Somali government army and African Union peacekeepers in Somalia since 2007. The new terrorist attack has come at a time when the Somali government has recently asked the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) delaying the withdrawal of peacekeeping troops in the country, pointing to the fact that such a move could leave a security gap. Under the withdrawal schedule, 3,000 troops of the African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia (Atmis) were to leave Somalia at the end of this month, in a phased withdrawal expected to last until December 2024. On September 19, the Federal Government of Somalia wrote to the UNSC to request that Atmis mandated by the UN Security Council suspend the withdrawal for at least three months.