Summary

NAME: SOM BLAST3 20091203I TAPE: EF09/1128 IN_TIME: 11:20:27:18 DURATION: 00:00:53:21 SOURCES: AMATEUR VIDEO DATELINE: Mogadishu - 3 Dec 2009 RESTRICTIONS: SHOTLIST PLEASE NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT. VIDEO SHOWS THE MOMENT THE SUICIDE ATTACK OCCURED, AND THE CARNAGE THAT FOLLOWED++ 1. Official speaking, bomb goes off 2. Various of carnage, bodies and injured people inside the venue ++NOTE: THERE IS A TIME LAPSE BETWEEN THE MOMENT OF THE EXPLOSION AND THE AFTERMATH PICTURES++ 3. Mid of man on steps lying in pool of blood 4. Mid of dead bodies, man walks by STORYLINE A male suicide bomber dressed as a woman attacked a university graduation ceremony on Thursday, killing at least 15 people, including three Cabinet ministers and three journalists. The attack raised new questions about the ability of Somalia's weak government to control even the small area of the capital it holds. African troops protecting the government wage near daily battles with Islamic militants who hold much of central and southern Somalia. More than three dozen students had gathered to receive their diplomas at the ceremony at the Shamo Hotel. Attendees were sitting on plastic chairs facing a small stage when the bomb went off. Amateur video showed the moment the explosion happened and the ensuing carnage, with the dead and wounded lying in bloody heaps. The assailants hit one of Somalia's most important efforts to extricate itself from anarchy and violence, explaining the presence of so many top government officials. The former medical students among the graduates came from only the second class to receive diplomas from the medical school. Somali Information Minister Dahir Mohamud Gelle, who confirmed that the ministers for education, higher education and health were killed in the blast, said it was a national disaster. The ministers for sports and tourism were wounded. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion fell upon the militant group al-Shabab, which has ties to al-Qaida, controls much of the country and has carried out past suicide attacks. In total, 15 people plus the suicide bomber died, the Somali information minister said. However, a statement from the African Union's mission in Somalia said 19 people were killed. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear. Top Somali officials _ including the president and prime minister _ met for an emergency session at the presidential palace after the attack. The European Union and the African Union condemned the attack. Somalia has been ravaged by violence and anarchy since warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, then turned on each other. A moderate Islamist was elected president in January in hopes that he could unite the country's feuding factions, but the violence has continued unabated.