Somali government blames Al-Shabaab for deadly blast in Mogadishu

Security officials in Somalia have said that the al-Shabaab extremist group was behind the deadly bombing that killed at least 320 people in Mogadishu on Saturday.

While al-Shabaab has not officially claimed responsibility, security officials have said that a key member of the cell that carried out Monday's blast have told them that the terror group was behind the attack.

According to The Guardian, the man was detained by the authorities as he tried to drive a second vehicle packed with explosives into the city on Saturday. He provided interrogators with details of the attack that has been described as one of the most lethal terrorist acts anywhere in the world for many years.

"This is the Somali 9/11. The man we arrested has confessed. He is proud of what he has done. He says it was for jihad," one official said.

Earlier this year, al-Shabaab has vowed to step up its attacks after both the Trump administration and Somalia's recently elected president announced fresh military operations against the al Qaeda-affiliated group.

The SITE Intelligence Group has noted that al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for two dozen attacks on Somali and African Union forces in the past two weeks, as well as the killing of one government official and the wounding of another. However, the group, which posted its latest claims on social media on Monday, has not taken credit for Saturday's huge truck bombing that left 320 people dead and hundreds more injured.

A security official noted that explosives had been hidden under rice, sugar and other goods on the truck, that had supposedly been inspected at a checkpoint at Sinka Dheer, about four miles (7 kilometers) outside of Mogadishu.

The official said that the ongoing investigation is focused on finding out whether the extremists had help from within the security forces.

The truck bomb, which is thought to be aimed at one of the ministries in the area, was detonated on a crowded downtown street, in turn igniting a fuel tanker that was parked nearby.

Rescue workers said that the intense heat generated by the blast made it difficult to count casualties because it meant that many of the remains would not be found.

Aden Nur, a doctor at the city's Madina hospital, said that 160 victims had already been buried by the government on Sunday because they could not be recognized.

"The others were buried by their relatives. Over a hundred injured were also brought here," he added.

Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of Amin ambulances, appealed for help from the international community.

"Families whose family members are missing are calling me every single minute," Abdirahman said. "At such a time we need international organisations ... they are good at [dealing with] crises like this," he added.

Somalian president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed declared three days of national mourning and joined thousands of people who donated blood for the wounded.