Al Shabab Kills Two Somali Government Senior Officials in 24 Hours

Security officers gather around the scene of an explosion in Mogadishu, Somalia, 03 May 2014. EFE/File

Thursday, November 13, 2014

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Mogadishu — The Islamist terrorist group Al Shabab killed two senior officials of the Somali government and three security officers in the last 24 hours in Mogadishu, a spokesman for the Somali Ministry of National Security told Efe on Wednesday.

Mohamed Abdi Adow, Somalia's Deputy Director of the Immigration and Citizenship, and a Somali intelligence agent were murdered Tuesday while their vehicle was stuck in a traffic jam, ministry spokesman Mohamed Yusuf told Efe.

Al Shabab spokesman Ali Jabal told a local radio station on Wednesday that the Islamist group also carried out the "successful" asassination of Yuusuf Hilaal, Vice President of Hwadaag province.

Another group of armed militiamen failed in their attempt to kill lawmaker Mohamed Omar, who survived the attack in which two of his bodyguards lost their lives.

Al Shabab has been fighting to establish an Islamic state in Somalia based on radical Wahabi ideology and claimed responsibility for a wave of car bombings and ambushes of politicians and government officials.

Violence in the Somali capital has increased in recent weeks as the dispute between Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Prime Minister AbdelWali Sheikh Ahmad has paralyzed the government.

Their conflict has divided the Somali Parliament, where 140 MPs announced last week they would submit a noconfidence motion against the prime minister, a move that United Nations officials are hoping to discourage.

A security officer attached to the U.N. staff in Mogadishu told Efe that security measures were tightened among members of foreign delegations and their staffs following the five murders in the last 24 hours.

Somalia has been in a state of war, insecurity and chaos since former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991, leaving the country with no effective government or armed forces, in the hands of radical Islamic militias, warlords and gangs of armed criminals.

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