Former Somali defense minister killed in car bomb attack in Mogadishu
A former Somalia defense minister was killed Monday in a car bomb attack as he left a meeting in Mogadishu, witnesses and officials said.
Muhiyadin Mohamed Haji Ibrahim was a member of the Kulan political party and was acting as an adviser to Somalia’s parliament.
A police official told Voice of America that an explosive device had been planted beneath Ibrahim’s car and detonated as he left a party gathering in the capital’s KM4 neighborhood.
No groups immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, but it resembled previous attacks by al-Qaida-linked terrorist group al-Shabab.
The incident occurred one day after al-Shabab claimed it was behind a failed bombing of a passenger plane on Feb. 2.
Investigators and witnesses said the attack on Daallo Airlines flight A321 claimed only one victim — the alleged bomber, who was sucked out of a hole blown into the fuselage after detonating his bomb at 11,000 feet.
