The attacker on Sunday targeted a queue of young recruits lining up outside the Damanyo base, killing at least 10 people, the Reuters news agency quoted witnesses as saying.
Teenagers were lining up at the base’s gate when the suicide bomber detonated the explosives, they said.
Abdisalan Mohamed said he had seen “hundreds of teenagers at the gate as we passed by in a bus”.
“Abruptly, a deafening blast occurred, and the area was covered by dense smoke. We could not see the details of casualties,” he added.
A military captain who gave his name as Suleiman described the attack as he had seen it unfold.
“I was on the other side of the road. A speeding tuk-tuk stopped, a man alighted, ran into the queue and then blew himself up. I saw 10 people dead, including recruits and passers-by. The death toll may rise,” he told Reuters.
Dozens of abandoned shoes and the remains of the suicide bomber remained visible at the scene, the report added.
MNA
