TERROR ATTACK: Somalia double bomb blasts kill 189 in deadliest ever assault

Police said a truck bomb exploded outside a hotel in the K5 intersection, which is lined with government offices, restaurants and kiosks.

Several buildings were flattened and dozens of vehicles set ablaze in the attack.

Two hours later, another blast struck the capital’s Medina district.

More than 200 people were injured as hospitals struggled to cope with the carnage, amid warnings the death tool could still rise.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo declared three days of national mourning and called for donations of blood and funds to victims of Saturday’s attack.

He pleaded: “I am appealing all Somali people to come forward and donate.” 

Today, police and emergency workers searched the rubble of destroyed buildings. 

They had already recovered dozens of corpses last night, most of which were charred beyond recognition.

Hundreds of people came to the junction in search of missing family members and police cordoned off the area for security reasons.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, although the Islamist militant group al Shabaab, which is allied to al Qaeda, was blamed by the government.

Prime Minster Hassan Ali Khaire said: “They don’t care about the lives of Somali people, mothers, fathers and children.

“They have targeted the most populated area in Mogadishu, killing only civilians.” 

Washington joined the condemnation, saying: “Such cowardly attacks reinvigorate the commitment of the United States to assist our Somali and African Union partners to combat the scourge of terrorism.” 

Al Shabaab is waging an insurgency against the UN-backed government and its African Union allies in a bid to topple the weak administration and impose its own strict interpretation of Islam.

The militants controlled Mogadishu between 2007 and 2011 but withdrew as fighting raged. 

African Union peacekeepers also drove them out of most other territory they controlled.