MOGADISHU, Somalia — Two bombs exploded inside a small mosque in Mogadishu’s main market Saturday, killing at least 30 people in the first Iraq-style bombing inside a house of worship in Somalia, officials said.
The blasts in the Bakara market went off while people were sitting inside the Abdala Shideye mosque waiting for noon prayers.
The bombings highlight the increasingly violent path Somali militants are taking following an influx of insurgents into the country from the Afghanistan conflict, fighters who are now training Somali militants.
The targeted mosque is tiny — only about 25 square yards — and sits in a crowded market among electronic shops.
Rugs that line the mosque floor were set on fire, and streaks of blood and black smoke charred the walls.
“It was very horrific. The blood was everywhere,” said Abdulahi Nuur, who attended to the dead and wounded.
Most of the victims were worshipers.
Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu’s ambulance service, said at least 30 people were killed and 70 wounded. Abdullahi Haji Ilmi, a witness, said he counted 32 bodies.
Somalia’s top two insurgent groups — al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam — have previously targeted each other’s leaders, and the attack Saturday could have been a retaliatory assassination attempt against al-Shabab.
A high-ranking member of al-Shabab was said to be inside the mosque.
