A roadside explosion outside the central Somalian town of Dhusamareb has killed 12 agents from the National Intelligence and Security Agency, police said in a statement.
#BREAKING: #Somalia’s intelligence head for the town of Dhusamareb Abdirashid Abdinur and 13 of his bodyguards have been killed in a roadside bomb blast near the town of Elder, some 30km outside Galmudug’s regional capital. pic.twitter.com/4qZop6K3kq
— Somaliguardian (@SomaliGuardian) February 7, 2021
Politicians were meeting in Dhusamareb to discuss the 8 February elections.
The al Shabaab militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to reports.
Somalia has been engulfed in violence since the eruption of a civil war between clan-based armed groups in the early 1990s. The situation has been further complicated by Al-Shabaab militants, who are staging numerous attacks across the country in an attempt to impose a radical version of Sharia law in the country.