At least three dead and seven injured in a truck bomb attack on a hotel in central Somalia

July 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –

At least three people have died and seven have been injured, including several regional ministers, in a truck bomb attack claimed by the jihadist organization Al Shabaab in the city of Jowhar, capital of Hirshabelle state, in central Somalia.

The truck has exploded at the entrance of the Nur Dob hotel and among the injured are the former vice president of the regional Parliament and regional ministers of Health and Women’s Affairs, according to official sources in statements collected by the ‘Somali Guardian’.

The deceased have been identified as a soldier and two civilians, as confirmed by the president of the Hirshabelle region, Ali Gudlawe, to the Somali state television SNTV.

Likewise, former deputies, directors and other officials have also been hospitalized for injuries sustained in the assault.

The attack takes place weeks after the Somali president, Hasan Sheikh Mohamud, announced the start of a new campaign to eliminate the jihadist organization, one of the most feared on the African continent.

Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre has expressed his condolences to Gudlawe, and “his sorrow for the cowardly terrorist attack on Sunday” in Jowhar.