Death Toll from Somalia Car Bomb Attack Climbs to over 90

The death toll from Saturday morning car bomb attack in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu has climbed to at least 90, according to officials.

Hodan Ali, the adviser to Mogadishu's mayor Omar Finish told Al Jazeera that the number of fatalities "is above 90 at the moment" and is expected to rise. The victims include police officers, foreign nationals and students from Benadir University whose minibus carrying 20 of them was destroyed in the blast.

The attacker drove the explosives-laden vehicle into the “Ex-control Afgoye” checkpoint, a junction that links the south of Somalia to the capital, according to Somalia’s government spokesman Ismael Mukhtar. The checkpoint is one of the main road tax collection government posts in Mogadishu.

The blast happened during rush hour in Mogadishu at around 8 am with pictures from the scene showing multiple wrecked vehicles. Somali officials said at least 100 vehicles and rickshaws carrying commuters were in line at the checkpoint for routine security inspections when the explosion went off.

Mogadishu Mayor Omar Finish, police and medical sources termed the blast as one of the heaviest and deadliest in Mogadishu’s recent memory. More than 100 people sustained injuries and are currently admitted to various hospitals in the city.

Several Somali police officers manning the checkpoint and two Turkish brothers working for a road construction company are among the dead. Over 30 school and university students who were traveling on public buses during morning rush hour lost their lives.

“Seventeen of our students and other students were among those killed during the attack. At least 20 others injured. They were heading to their education centers,” said Benadir University president Dr. Mohamed Mohamud Bide.

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed condemned the attack, describing it as “a heinous terrorist attack against innocent civilians.” No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but officials link it to al-Shabaab.