Death toll from Somali explosion rises to at least 300

The death toll from a Saturday bomb explosion in Mogadishu, Somalia, has risen to 300 people, as the country struggles to respond to one of its deadliest terror attacks. The explosion, triggered by military-grade and homemade explosives loaded into a truck, struck a crowded street near some of capital city’s government ministries. “The death toll will still be higher because some people are still missing,” Dr. Abdulkadir Adam of Aamin Ambulance Services told Reuters on Monday. At least 15 primary school children are among the dead. Rescue workers continue to search through the rubble for survivors as families start to bury some of the dead. International aid started to trickle in Monday, with Turkey, Kenya, and Ethiopia pledging medical support. Somali President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed condemned the attack and declared three days of national mourning for the victims. The Somali government blamed al-Shabaab for the bombing, but no group has claimed responsibility. Before Saturday, the deadliest attack in the sub-Saharan region took place in 2015 at Kenya’s Garissa University, where at least 148 people died. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for that attack.