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Erdogan condemns 'vile, treacherous' attack in Somalia

In a phone call with his Somalian counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the Turkish president also expresses Türkiye's strong support for Somalia's fight against terrorism.

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Perpetrators of the Mogadishu terrorist attack have no link to Islam, humanity, says Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The president of Türkiye has strongly condemned a "heinous" terrorist attack with bomb-laden vehicles in Somalia.

"No reason can be an excuse for killing innocent civilians, children going to school, people praying in mosques," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a meeting with religious officials in the Turkish capital Ankara on Monday.

"The perpetrators of the heinous terrorist attack that claimed the lives of more than 100 of our brothers and sisters in Somalia have absolutely no connection with Islam, Sharia, or humanity," Erdogan added.

"We condemn this vile and treacherous attack and wish our Somali brothers and sisters to get well soon," Erdogan said, adding that Türkiye would continue to stand with Somalia in difficult times.

"All of these terrorist organisations, whether they are called Daesh, Boko Haram, or FETO, are deviant structures that use our religion for their dirty purposes," he added.

Later on Monday, in a phone call with his Somalian counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Erdogan wished Allah's mercy on those who lost their lives in the attack and a speedy recovery to those injured.

Expressing Türkiye's strong support for Somalia's fight against terrorism, Erdogan told Mohamud that Ankara always stands by Somalia and its people.

Scores of casualties

Two separate bombings claimed by the Al Qaeda-affiliated terror group, Al Shabaab, left scores of casualties on Saturday at a busy intersection in Somalia's capital Mogadishu.

The number of people killed by two car bombs that exploded outside the education ministry in Somalia's capital Mogadishu has risen to at least 120 people, the health minister said on Monday.

The terrorist group has been under pressure since August when President Mohamud began an offensive against it, and sought to dismantle its financial network.