Somali interior minister killed in suicide attack

Somalia’s Interior Minister Abdishakur Sheikh Hassan died in a suicide attack at his home on Friday allegedly carried out by his niece. Security forces confirmed that a young woman who had been staying at the minister’s home for the past three days was behind the attack. 

Reuters/Omar Faruk

A number of other people were also wounded in the explosion which took place as the minister hosted a meeting with other colleagues.

The suicide attack is the third in the capital Mogadishu in less than two weeks claimed by Somalia’s Islamist Shebab rebels who are fighting the Western-backed government for control of the country.

The Shebab are currently facing an unprecedented offensive from the government backed by the African Union’s peacekeeping mission in Mogadishu (Amisom).

In a separate incident, two people were killed and four injured in the capital on Friday when supporters of Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who is facing dismissal from the government, clashed with security personnel for the second consecutive day.

The casualties occurred when hundreds of civilians came out to protest the demand by President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed for the prime minister to resign within 30 days.