Somalia: Suicide bomb attack kills 19 including gov’t ministers


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A bomb attack perpetrated Thursday in Somalia by a student suicide bomber has killed three government ministers. The suicide bomb attack occurred on the premises of Hotel Shamow in Mogadiscio during a graduation ceremony. Two journalists, including Hassan Zuber Hadji, a cameraman from al-Arabiya, have been killed. Nineteen people have so far been reported dead.

Three government ministers of the Transitional Federal Government (TGF) have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in Mogadiscio, the Somali capital. The blast occurred at the Shamow hotel.

According to a government official in charge of security, Minister of Higher education, Ibrahim Hassan Addow, Minister of education, Mohammed Abdullhai Waayel, and the Minister of Health, Qamar Aden Ali, have been killed. Sports Minister, Suleyman Olad Robe, has also been reported injured.

The attack occurred during a graduation ceremony for students of the university of Benadir. According to the Dean of the university, 43 students from the faculties of Medicine, Information Technology, and Engineering were present at the graduation ceremony. Reports claim that one of the students was behind the attack.

So far, 19 people including two journalists have been reported dead. The two journalists mentioned are, al-Arabiya’s Hassan Zuber Hadji, and Mohamed Amin Aden, correspondent for radio Shabelle. The number of persons killed in the blast is likely to rise.

Mogadiscio has become the epicentre of violent attacks for several months now. The Somali government is under constant threats from al-Shabab, a radical islamist rebel movement that has taken control of several regions in the country.

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