The death toll from a truck bomb at a checkpoint in Somalia rises to 21

By OMAR FARUK
Associated Press

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The death toll from a bombing attack at a government checkpoint in central Somalia has reached 21. A government official says the number of wounded in Saturday’s truck bombing in Beledweyne stood at 52. He said 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. The town of 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.