Al-Shabaab bomb attack kills governor in Somalia

A governor in Somalia’s Puntland has been killed in a bomb attack by militants from the Takfiri al-Shabab group.

According to Press TV, police and hospital sources said on Monday Governor Abdisalan Hassan Hersi of the Nugaal region died of the wounds he sustained in the bombing on Sunday shortly after arriving at a hospital.

According to eyewitnesses, a bomber had run to the governor’s vehicle and detonated his explosives.

“He was in a critical condition when he was admitted to hospital,” a medic anonymously told AFP. “He was badly wounded in the blast and he had little chance of surviving such serious injuries.”

A former police commander and a civilian were also wounded in the attack.

Al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabab militants were driven out of the capital city, Mogadishu, with the help of international African Union forces in 2011.

The militant group has since lost power in most of its former strongholds; however, it still wields significant influence in vast swathes of the countryside, from where it recruits, coordinates, and launches attacks against government, military, and civilian targets in Somalia and neighboring countries.

Earlier this year, the terrorist group launched an attack against a military base used by US and Kenyan forces in neighboring Kenya.

ME