Bomb blast kills regional judicial official in Somalia

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – Multiple casualties were reported on Friday after a bomb blast targeted senior regional government officials in the southwestern Somali city of Baidoa, officials said.

A security official in Baidoa told Anadolu Agency over the phone that initial reports said Hassan Ibrahim Lugbur, justice minister in the South West State, is among the dead.

The bomb exploded shortly after Lugbur left a mosque after Friday prayers, he added.

The official said at least seven people were also wounded in the attack and were taken to local hospitals.

Baidoa, the largest city in the South West State, is located 245 kilometers (152 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing, but al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for many recent attacks in the Horn of Africa country.