Somali governor, five others killed in suicide bombing

The governor of the Gedo region in southwestern Somalia, Ahmed Bulle Gared, was killed in a suicide bombing alongside five others on Tuesday.

A senior police commander in the Gedo region, Hussein Adan, who confirmed the attack, said 11 people were seriously injured in the attack.

He said the incident happened when a suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden vehicle into a guest house in Bardera where government officials were staying,

“The explosion destroyed most of the building and five security personnel were killed including the governor. Eleven other people were injured in the explosion,” Adan said.

READ ALSO: 34 killed as fighting rages in Somalia’s breakaway region

A senior security official told journalists the Al-Shabaab terror group has been fingered in the bombing.

The Al-Qaeda-linked rebel group has been fighting the United Nations recognised Somali government since 2007 with the aim of installing a strict Sharia rule in the Horn of Africa nation.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, who returned to power in May 2022, had in his inaugural address, promised to wage “total war” against the group.

Mohamoud has so far backed local militias with arms and ammunition to take the fight to the terrorists in several of their strongholds.

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