US Treasury imposes sanctions on Somali arms network  

The United States has imposed sanctions on a Somali weapons trafficking network saying they are supplying arms to Daesh-Somalia and the al-Shabab militant group after twin bombings killed at least 100 in Mogadishu on Saturday.   

The US Department of Treasury said it blacklisted eight individuals and one company involved in the multi-million dollar arms network, allegedly contributing to the violence by al-Shabab and the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in Somalia, AFP reported.

"The individuals and entity designated today are critical nodes for a weapons trafficking network that is closely integrated with ISIS-Somalia," the Treasury said, using its acronym for the terrorist group.

"These networks operate primarily between Yemen and Somalia and have strong ties to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and al-Shabab," it said.

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Al Shabab claimed responsibility and said the attack was in response to Somali children being taught from a Christian-led education syllabus. Al-Shabab often targets high-profile locations with large numbers of civilians killed.

The US Treasury said networks are partly centered on Puntland on the eastern tip of Somalia, where it said Abdirahman Mohamed Omar has handled more than $2 million in arms deals over the past four years.

"Omar has been involved in weapons facilitation to ISIS-Somalia and al-Shabab since at least early 2017," working with an AQAP arms facilitator, the Treasury claimed.

The Treasury said Omar and other Puntland arms traders mentioned in the sanctions were also involved in illegal fishing using dynamite and piracy.

At least 100 people were killed in two car bombings outside the education ministry in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, on Saturday.

At least 300 others were wounded, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said on Sunday. The attack was the deadliest since October 2017, when a vehicle bomb at the same market intersection killed more than 500 people.

The attack occurred when the president, prime minister and other senior officials were meeting to discuss combating violent extremism, especially by the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabab group that often targets the capital.

Takfiri terrori: At least 100 killed in two car bombings in Somalia's Mogadishu

At least 100 people have been killed and 300 others injured in two car bombings outside the education ministry in Somalia’s capital.

Al-Shabab has been fighting Somalia’s central government for more than 15 years in an attempt to establish its own rule in the African country. Recently, the group has launched strikes on the Ethiopian border.

An African Union force pushed the al-Shabab militants out of the capital in 2011, but the group still controls swathes of countryside and frequently carries out gun and bomb attacks against both civilian and military targets. Its targets include busy traffic intersections, hotels, and military bases.

Somalia is also in the grip of a devastating drought that has driven one million people from their homes and left the country in the shadow of famine, according to the United Nations.

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