MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Latest on the Minnesota Somali community’s reaction to Saturday’s explosion that killed more than 300 people in Mogadishu, Somalia (all times local):
4:20 p.m.
Religious leaders and advocates in Minnesota’s large Somali community are condemning an attack in Somalia that killed more than 300 people.
Saturday’s attack in Mogadishu also injured about 400 people and left scores missing. Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Minnesota, says some Minnesotans still don’t know if their loved ones are OK.
He says the bombing has brought “a great deal of sadness” to the community.
Imam Hassan Mohamud called the attack Somalia’s 9/11. Others spoke of efforts to raise money or send medical supplies to the victims.
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the U.S. Many residents say they have relatives who were hurt or killed in the attack. At least one person who lived in Minnesota, Ahmed AbdiKarin Eyow, died.
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12:20 p.m.
Members of Minnesota’s large Somali community are planning a vigil to pray for those impacted by the bombing in their homeland.
More than 300 people died in a truck bombing Saturday in Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu, and nearly 400 more are injured. Scores of others are missing.
Somalis in Minnesota are shaken by the attack and many have lost relatives. At least one Minnesotan, Ahmed AbdiKarin Eyow, died.
Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar is hosting a vigil in the heart of a Minneapolis Somali neighborhood on Monday evening to pray for the people of Mogadishu and families who lost loved ones.
Omar says she hopes Minnesotans of all races and religions will join in the event. She says: “We stand united for peace, and a world without terror.”
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