Thursday January 21, 2021
Medical workers wait by ambulances ready to transport wounded, after a bomb attack at an ice cream shop in Mogadishu, Somalia, Nov. 27, 2020
The militant group al-Shabab is claiming responsibility for a landmine explosion in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, that killed four people.
Dalsan FM radio reports the deputy commissioner for security and politics in Garasbaale, Abdi-Rashid Dubad, was among the victims killed in Tuesday's blast.
Six others were injured in the explosion just two days after the United States completed the withdrawal of 700 military personnel from Somalia who supported security forces with counter terrorism operations.
The pull out of U.S. troops from Somalia was one of President Donald Trump’s last official actions.
It is unknown whether President-elect Joe Biden will reverse the withdrawal of U.S. military personnel from Somalia after he becomes the 46th U.S. president at noon on Wednesday.
The absence of U.S. troops in Somalia has taken on a greater significance because the country is weeks away from the February 8 presidential election, which militants have previously attempted to disrupt.