The 2008 Mogadishu bombings occurred on August 3, 2008 in Mogadishu

Mogadishu

Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....

, the capital of Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

. A roadside bombing killed 21 women who were cleaning rubbish from a southern Mogadishu street on Sunday morning, a hospital official said. Mogadishu residents gathered around victims of the bomb attack along the city's Maka Al Mukarama Road.

The bomb blast wounded another 46 people, most of them Somali women who had gathered to clean Maka Al Mukarama Road in southern Mogadishu's Kilometer 4 district, according to Medina Hospital director Dr. Dahir Dhere.

Quotes

"It suddenly turned the area into a carnage, scattering body parts of the street cleaners into a large area," said witness Asha Ise Gedi. "There were pools of blood everywhere. I have never seen such mass killing."

"They were innocent poor mothers or sisters," Gedi said. "Why did they deserve this?"

Investigation

It is unclear who is behind the attack.

Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed Omar Habeb Dhere

Mohamed Omar Habeb Dhere

Mohamed Omar Habeb is a Somali warlord based out of the city of Jowhar. He hails from the Abgaal subclan of Hawiye. He also has significant influence on the northern parts of the capital Mogadishu where he control a militia of around 400 men....

, who was recently fired by the country's prime minister, blamed the Islamic Courts Union for waging the attack. But the head of the Islamist insurgent group

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

, Abid Rahim Ise Adow, denied any involvement and blamed Somalia's government for orchestrating the attack.

The victims were participating in a program that allows Somali women

Somali people

Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...

 to work as street cleaners in exchange for food. The United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

' World Food Program organized the program, which began last year and is administered by Mogadishu's regional authority.