Mogadishu Suicide Bomber Kills Four People, Self

Summary:

• A suicide bomber targeted a crowded area near Mogadishu’s regional administration headquarters in Somalia, killing four people, including himself, and injuring seven others. The attacker detonated his explosives after being pursued by security forces. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it aimed at intelligence operatives and government employees. The incident occurred despite recent improvements in the capital’s security.

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Police in Somalia say a suicide bomber killed four people and himself and injured seven others Tuesday when he detonated an explosives-laden vest in a crowded area near Mogadishu’s regional administration headquarters.

Major Sadiq Aden Ali, a police spokesman, confirmed the attack and casualties in an interview with VOA Somali.

“At about 11:40 a.m., a suicide bomber detonated himself in Hamarweyne district, in particular at Al-Hindi restaurant,” Ali said. “He inflicted casualties on innocent, civilian, Somali Muslims.”

Ali said people sitting outside the restaurant saw a suspicious-looking man and alerted police. Ali said the security forces tried to apprehend the bomber, but he ran away and detonated his explosives.

A video clip of the incident from a closed-circuit TV feed shows a security officer chasing the would-be bomber before the explosion.

The soldier chasing the bomber was among the injured, Ali said.

“The police did not fire because it is a crowded market,” he said. “They tried to keep people away and apprehend him alive but he detonated [the vest].”

The explosion was near the Mogadishu regional headquarters, which was targeted by al-Shabab in July 2019 when the city’s former mayor, Abdirahman Omar Osman, was fatally injured, and again in January 2023.
Somali policemen hold their positions near the mayor’s office following a blast in Mogadishu, Jan. 22, 2023.
Ali said the target of the most recent bomber is not yet clear.

“Security forces believe the suicide bomber [did not reach] his intended target, because when the people suspected they informed the security forces, and that is how they engaged,” he said.

Militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement posted on the Telegram channel, the group said it was targeting intelligence operatives and other government employees.

The explosion comes amid a general improvement in the capital’s security situation over the last year, aided by the deployment of troops and security checkpoints on the outskirts of the capital to prevent would-be truck bombs.

Harun Maruf contributed to this report.

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