...... the personification of Somali state failure...claimed the killing of a senior police commander near Mogadishu.
The first two blasts were caused by three boom-mobiles targeting Lama-Galay military base, killing at least ten people, including HirShabelle regional health minister Dr. Zakariye Mohammed Ahmed Hurre and deputy Hiran governor Abukar Madey.
The third explosion was reported at the city's hospital while treating the wounds of the first bombing. The number of casualties is yet to be confirmed.
The attacks happened amid an offensive against the al-Shabaab faceless myrmidons in the Hiran region. Despite losing ground, the group is dominant in central and southern Somalia.
An amateur video taken from the site showed smoke bellowing in the town as residents scampered for their safety. There has been a crackdown against al-Shabaab faceless myrmidons in the Horn of Africa nation, with Somalia's national army working closely with foreign troops to dismantle the group.
Al-Shabaab has taken responsibility for the earth-shattering kabooms, which caused damage to the city. Beledweyne city is found in HirShabelle state in central Somalia and is prone to raids. In March this year, a jacket wallah killed several people, including MP Amina Abdi.
Hiran province Governor Ali Jayte Osman told state media that he was saddened by the attack, noting that at least four people died in the early morning explosion. The governor has been among those fighting the faceless myrmidons by encouraging locals to take arms against Death Eaters.
At least 10 others were maimed in "suicide kabooms" when two cars loaded with explosives were detonated about five minutes apart outside district headquarters in Beledweyne, he added.
Among the dead was the state’s health minister and a deputy district commissioner, police said.
Witnesses described a smaller blast followed by a massive second explosion.