BOMB BLAST KILLS 300 IN MOGADISHU

At least 230 people have been killed in massive bomb attack in a busy area of Mogadishu in Somalia. A lorry full of explosives was detonated near the entrance of a hotel. Many more people were wounded.

No group has yet  claimed responsibility fotr the attack although the Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmajo" Mohamed has blamed the attack on Al Shbab and called it a "heinous act".

The President has declared three days of mourning for the victims of the blast.

There was a second bomb attack in the Madina district of the city, where two people were killed..

An eyewitness, local resident Muhidin Ali, told AFP it was "the biggest blast I have ever witnessed, it destroyed the whole area".

The director of the Madina Hospital, Mohamed Yusuf Hassan, said he was shocked by the scale of the attack.

"Seventy-two wounded people were admitted to the hospital and 25 of them are in very serious condition. Others lost their hands and legs at the scene.

"What happened yesterday was incredible, I have never seen such a thing before, and countless people lost their lives. Corpses were burned beyond recognition."