Turkey condemns terrorist al-Shabaab for Somalia attack

ANKARA

Turkey’s ruling party has condemned the terrorist group al-Shabaab, which is responsible for Saturday's suicide truck bombing in Somalia that killed some 80 people, including two Turkish citizens, and wounded over 150 others.

“Both al-Qaeda and its Somali-based affiliate al-Shabaab are among the terrorist groups that commit the greatest crimes against humanity and Muslims,” Omer Celik, a spokesman for the Justice and Development (AK) Party, said on Twitter on Tuesday .

“Turkey’s legitimate and effective fight against terror groups, which pose a threat to humanity, is a principled one,” Celik said.

He added that those who distinguish between "good" and "bad" terrorist groups provide “the greatest nourishment to terror.”

“We call on our friends and allies to cooperate and stand in solidarity in the fight against terrorism that Turkey carries out on behalf of humanity,” he added.

Injured Somali succumbs

Amina Osman Kheyre, a Somali medical school student, has succumbed to death in a hospital in Turkey’s capital Ankara, according to officials.

Kheyre was among a group of Somalis injured by Saturday's attack that were brought to Turkish hospitals to treat their injuries.

After the attack, Turkey flew doctors to the scene and brought 16 Somalis to Turkish hospitals to treat their injuries, as well as treated 36 in a Turkish hospital in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

This September, at least two people were injured in a bomb attack targeting a vehicle in Mogadishu belonging to the Turkish Maarif Foundation, an educational group, in an attack also claimed by al-Shabaab.

Al-Shabaab has wreaked havoc in East Africa, killing thousands. In 2017, Al-Shabaab militants killed more than 580 people in twin truck bombings in Mogadishu.

* Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur