The death toll from a massive weekend truck bomb in a busy shopping district of Mogadishu surged to at least 200, police said, warning it could rise further after one of the worst-ever attacks to hit war-torn Somalia.
The figure was a huge jump from an initial police estimate of 20 dead in the hours after the deadly explosion ripped through the Somali capital on Saturday, causing scenes of carnage and widespread devastation.
"We are getting different numbers in terms of the casualty from the medical centres, but we have confirmed so far 137 (dead), most of them burned beyond recognition," police official Ibrahim Mohamed told AFP.
But that toll was soon revised again.
"We have confirmed 200 civilians died in yesterday’s blast. We understand the death toll is higher than that. Many people are still missing their relatives," Abdifatah Omar Halane, the spokesman for Mogadishu mayor, told Reuters.
