Friday September 15, 2023
Dhusamareb (HOL) – A suicide car bomb killed several people and wounded others, including two Somali federal lawmakers in the Mudug region on Friday morning, officials confirmed.
The car bomb targeted a camp in the frontline village of Laas-Gacmey, situated between the Wisil and Ba'adweyne districts, where the Galmudug President, parliamentarians, and other officials were staying.
The commander of the Galmudug Dervish army, General Mohamed Nur Ali Gadaar, confirmed the death of Galmudug Presidential guards and injuries to other soldiers. He added that the regional President, Ahmed Abdi Kariye Qoor-Qoor and other officials were safe, but the destruction of the buildings caused injuries.
Senator Abdi Hassan Qaybdid reportedly sustained an injury when a rock fell from the building's wall where he was sleeping. Lawmaker Abdisalam Haji Dhabancad, stated that a car bomb had attacked where they had slept the previous night. The MP confirmed suffering a minor hand injury caused by the building's collapse.
Galmudug President Ahmed Abdi Kariye QorQor stated in a recorded video that the al-Shabab attack had failed and expressed confidence that the army would succeed significantly in the war against al-Shabab in the coming days.
Galmudug President Ahmed QorQor, alongside the country's Defense Minister Abdukhadir Mohamud Nur and other regional and federal officials, has spent the past three weeks on the frontline in the Galgadud region, intensifying anti-al-Shabab operations in central Somalia.
Earlier this week, MP Mohamed Mohamud Ahmed (also known as Mohamed Yare), a member of the Galmudug Parliament, and Abdullahi Ibrahim Shaaciye, a member of the Dhusamareb Local Council, were killed in a landmine explosion in El-Garas town in the Galgadud region. On Monday, these lawmakers had travelled to the town to visit troops who had recently recaptured the village from al-Shabab.
The Somali federal government has been engaged in a prolonged battle against Al-Shabaab for over a decade, with support from international partners and African Union troops. Despite making significant gains, the extremist group still maintains control over vast rural areas of the country and continues to carry out attacks in the capital, Mogadishu, as well as other regions.