Pope deplores Mogadishu bombing (3)

(ANSA) - Vatican City, October 18 - Pope Francis on Wednesday voiced "pain" over Sunday's carbombing in Mogadishu Saturday that killed over 300 people including some children. He said "this terrorist act deserves to be most strongly deplored, also because it falls on a population that is already been through so much. "I'm praying for the dead and the wounded, for their families and the whole people of Somalia. "I implore the conversion of the violent ones and encourage those who, with huge difficulties, are working for peace in that tortured land".
    On Saturday, a massive blast caused by a truck bombing in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, killed at least 327 people and injured nearly 400.
    It was the worst attack in the country's history.
    The truck was detonated after it was stopped.
    The actual target of the attack is believed to have been a secure compound housing international agencies and troops.
    While no group had admitted responsibility, officials believe the attack was made by a cell of the Islamist group al-Shabaab, which has committed several atrocities over recent years.