MOGADISHU: In a suicide explosion in southern Somalia on Wednesday, nine persons were killed, including a senior local government official.According to authorities, the attack took place in front of the Marka administration building as Abdullahi Ali Ahmed Wafow, the district commissioner, was having a conversation with locals.
According to Ibrahim Ali, a police officer in Marka, “Commissioner Abdullahi Wafow was killed in an explosion together with eight other persons, the most of whom were security personnel.”Although the investigation is ongoing, there are already indications that a suicide bomber was responsible for the terrible act.
Al Shaabab asserted responsibility and said the commissioner was the target of the “martydom operation” in a brief statement. The bomber allegedly “stepped up to the commissioner and blew himself up,” according to witness Abdukadir Hassan.
I was nearby when the tragedy took place, and the scene was horrific with all these scattered fragments of human flesh. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the new president of Somalia, stated last month that negotiations with Al Shabaab would only take place at the appropriate moment. He added that putting an end to the conflict required more than a military strategy.
