The latest from the Somali theater of jihad: “Suicide bomber kills Somali security minister,” by Abdi Guled and Ibrahim Mohamed Abdi Guled for Reuters, June 18:
MOGADISHU (Reuters) — Hardline Islamist insurgents killed Somalia’s security minister and at least 24 other people on Thursday in the deadliest suicide bomb attack yet in the Horn of Africa nation, officials said.
Security Minister Omar Hashi Aden was a key player in the government offensive against Islamist rebels who control much of southern Somalia and want to impose a strict version of Islamic law in the Horn of Africa nation.[…]
“Al Qaeda considers Somalia a strategic place. They want to make it a safe haven for criminals,” President Ahmed told a news conference. “This is an international war against Somalis. We ask the world to help us fight the international terrorists.”
A suicide car bomber targeted Aden and other officials at a hotel in Baladwayne, a central town where the minister was helping direct operations against al Shabaab, which officials say has hundreds of foreign fighters in its ranks.
A senior official in the prime minister’s office said Somalia’s former ambassador to Ethiopia, Abdkarin Farah Laqanyo, was also killed in the explosion.[…]
Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the blast.
“One of our Mujahideen has carried out that holy attack and the so-called security minister and his men were killed,” Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, told local media.
The insurgent group has so far resisted government attempts to drive its fighters from the capital. The rebels, along with allied group Hizbul Islam, control most of southern Somalia bordering Kenya and parts of the central region.
Analysts say the fighting in Mogadishu is the worst for years and the chances of any negotiated peace are waning.