From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Thu Jun 18 2009 - 10:14:20 EDT
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Suicide bomber kills Somali security minister
By Abdi Guled and Ibrahim Mohamed Abdi Guled And Ibrahim Mohamed - 19
mins ago
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Hardline Islamist insurgents killed Somalia's
security minister and at least 24 other people on Thursday in the
deadliest suicide bomb attack yet in the Horn of Africa nation,
officials said.
Security Minister Omar Hashi Aden was a key player in the government
offensive against Islamist rebels who control much of southern Somalia
and want to impose a strict version of Islamic law in the Horn of Africa
nation.
Insurgent group al Shabaab, which has links to al Qaeda, stepped up
their attacks in early May to try to oust President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed,
but neither side has delivered a knockout blow and clashes have killed
about 300 people since then.
Western nations, some of Somalia's neighbors and the government fear
that if the chaos persists, more foreign fighters coming to wage holy
war will be sucked into the Horn of Africa nation, increasing risks to
the region.
"Al Qaeda considers Somalia a strategic place. They want to make it a
safe haven for criminals," President Ahmed told a news conference. "This
is an international war against Somalis. We ask the world to help us
fight the international terrorists."
A suicide car bomber targeted Aden and other officials at a hotel in
Baladwayne, a central town where the minister was helping direct
operations against al Shabaab, which officials say has hundreds of
foreign fighters in its ranks.
A senior official in the prime minister's office said Somalia's former
ambassador to Ethiopia, Abdkarin Farah Laqanyo, was also killed in the
explosion.
SUICIDE ATTACKS
Mohamed Abdi, a shopkeeper near the hotel, said smoke was rising from
the building, government forces started shooting after the blast and
body parts were scattered in the street.
Officials and hospital sources said the bomb killed at least 25 people
and wounded 38.
A suicide car bomber killed seven people outside a police headquarters
in the capital in May. A twin suicide attack on a base for African Union
peacekeepers in Mogadishu killed 11 soldiers from Burundi in February.
Thirteen civilians and a policeman died in a suicide attack in January
in the capital.
Aden moved to Baladwayne at the start of June with heavily armed troops
in a bid to recapture more territory from hardline Islamist insurgents
outside Mogadishu.
Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the blast.
"One of our Mujahideen has carried out that holy attack and the
so-called security minister and his men were killed," Sheikh Ali Mohamud
Rage, told local media.
The insurgent group has so far resisted government attempts to drive its
fighters from the capital. The rebels, along with allied group Hizbul
Islam, control most of southern Somalia bordering Kenya and parts of the
central region.
Analysts say the fighting in Mogadishu is the worst for years and the
chances of any negotiated peace are waning.
(Additional reporting by Abdiaziz Hassan in Nairobi, Writing by David
Clarke; Editing by Helen Nyambura-Mwaura and Charles Dick)
(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top
issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090618/wl_nm/us_somalia_conflict
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