Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked rebels struck at the heart of the capital Mogadishu today, killing scores of people with a truck bomb in the group's most deadly single attack since launching an insurgency in 2007.
Mogadishu's ambulance coordinator Ali Muse said at least 70 people had been killed by the blast. Initial official estimates were lower, but were expected to rise as the dead and wounded had been taken to a number of sites in the capital.
Witnesses said a truck exploded at the gate of a compound housing government ministries in the K4 area of Mogadishu, where students and parents had gathered to await the results of scholarship exams.
The twisted axle from the truck lay on blackened soil. A body draped with a red shawl lay nearby. People used corrugated iron, rugs and white sheeting to carry corpses away from the devastation at a normally bustling junction.
Ambulances rushed to and fro past twisted, charred trees and a burnt out car. Hundreds of parents stood weeping outside the Madina Hospital in Mogadishu after being denied access for security reasons and nurses said they were overwhelmed.
"I was among the first people to arrive here moments after the explosion. I looked around and reassured those who were still alive," said witness Halma Abdi.
Britain described the blast as "callous" while France said it was a "vile terrorist attack" and reasserted its support for the country's UN-backed transitional government.
The UN special envoy to Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, said he was deeply saddened by the senseless, cowardly attack.
Al Shabaab insurgents, who claimed responsibility for today's bombing, pulled most of their fighters out of Mogadishu in August allowing government troops and African Union soldiers to seize much of the coastal capital.
But the rebels said they had just changed their tactics and vowed to still carry out attacks on government installations.
Paddy Ankunda, spokesman for the African Union force (AMISOM) in Somalia, said students and government soldiers were among the dead. The government said no senior officials were hurt in the attack.
A Reuters reporter saw nine bodies at the compound, which is in an area of the capital under the control of government forces and African Union troops from the east African countries of Uganda and Burundi.
The blast flattened kiosks near the compound and a charred body lay near a blazing car. Debris from the explosion landed hundreds of metres away.
Scores of people with burns walked to a nearby hospital and police were trying to evacuate more students trapped inside the damaged buildings. Doctors said they were shocked by the number of casualties, in a city that has endured years of violence.
Mr Muse said it looked as though the truck had been packed with petrol and explosives. He said students, soldiers and civilians were among the dead.
Some analysts said they were worried the blast might prompt international agencies helping famine victims in Somalia to pull out, leaving operations in the hands of local organisations prone to corruption or theft by militias.
"Most humanitarian agencies were complaining about lack of security and this might put off international agencies from going anywhere near Mogadishu now," said Hamza Mohamed, a London-based Somali analyst. "This is my worst fear now."
When al Shabaab fighters pulled out of Mogadishu in August, analysts warned the conflict was far from won and a shift in the insurgents' tactics could herald a wave of al-Qaeda-style suicide attacks.
"Since the withdrawal of Shabaab from Mogadishu we have been increasingly concerned with a shift towards more asymmetric attacks and terrorist-style actions," a UN official said.
"We've been warning for a long time the situation there is still fragile, a security sector capable of defending against these attacks has yet to be 'stood up', AMISOM is stretched and in desperate need of additional resources," he said.
Al Shabaab has used suicide bombers to devastating effect in past attacks on African Union compounds, government buildings and a medical graduation ceremony.
A suicide bomber killed three government ministers in the December 2009 attack on the graduation ceremony in Mogadishu and a fourth minister died from his wounds two months later. A female suicide bomber killed the interior minister in June.
Al Shabaab is fighting to oust the UN-backed transition government that it sees as a puppet of the West and wants to impose its own harsh version of sharia law throughout the Horn of Africa nation.
Reuters