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Somali governor killed in Al-Shabaab suicide blast
MOGADISHU, May 17, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A Somali governor and three
bodyguards were killed in a suicide attack claimed by the Al-Shabaab
jihadist group in the regional capital of Galkayo on Sunday, a
security official said.
The attacker rammed a scooter taxi into a car carrying Ahmed Muse
Nur, the governor of the north-central Mudug province, and his
security detail before detonating an explosive device, official Muse
Ahmed told AFP.
A witness named Bile Mohamed described the attack in a phone call
with AFP, saying: “Everyone in the vehicle including the governor and
his driver died, there was smoke and fire all everywhere.”
Muse Ahmed confirmed the toll of four and added: “There are other
casualties but the details are still being investigated.”
In late March, the governor of Puntland, a neighbouring
semi-autonomous province, was killed in similar circumstances.
Al-Shabaab, an Islamist militant group waging a deadly insurgency
in Somalia, claimed responsibility for that attack as well.
On Sunday, it posted a statement on a pro-Shabaab website that
said: “The governor of the apostate administration in the Mudug region
was killed in a martyrdom operation in Galkayo today.”
Galkayo lies around 600 kilometres (375 miles) north of Somalia’s
capital Mogadishu, straddling the border of two self-proclaimed
semi-autonomous states — Puntland and Galmutug, which includes Mudug.
The city has been rocked by fighting between forces from both
regions and also by rival clans in the northern and southern parts of
the town.
Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda affiliate, was driven out of Mogadishu in
2011 and lost most of its strongholds, but still controls vast swathes
of the countryside.
Its militants have vowed to overthrow the internationally-backed
government in Mogadishu and have carried out numerous attacks in the
capital.
BSS/AFP/MRU/2135hrs