Suicide attack kills 2 in Somali capital

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - A female suicide bomber detonated herself in the office of the Mogadishu’s mayor, killing two officials and badly wounding Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman, local media reported on Wednesday.

"Sabah Abdullahi Mohamed, the commissioner of Abdulaziz district and her Waberi district counterpart are confirmed to be among the dead," GaroweOnline, an independent news website claimed.

Deputy Mayor Mohamed Abdullahi Tullah told state owned media that the mayor was wounded in the blast and he is currently being treated at the Raccep Tayyip Erdogan hospital.

"Some of the commissioners of Mogadishu district have also been wounded," he said.

A police officer, Mohamed Abdirahman, told Anadolu Agency over the phone that the attack took place inside the office of the mayor.

"I cannot confirm casualties. But what I have been told is that a female suicide bomber blew herself up inside the mayor’s office in the municipality headquarters, in Mogadishu this Wednesday afternoon," he said.

An investigation regarding the attack is currently underway, he added

The attack came an hour after the mayor had received senior officials from the Somalia-based UN office, including the UN envoy to Somalia in his office, according to Mogadishu administration sources.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

But officials have blamed al-Qaeda affiliated group al-Shabaab for conducting the attack.

Just two days ago, at least 17 people were killed and over 30 others wounded in a suicide car bomb blast in Somali capital Mogadishu. The insurgent group al-Shabaab had claimed responsibility for the attack.

In October 2017, hundreds of people were killed in a double car bombing in Mogadishu, the deadliest attack in the country's history.