10 killed, including senior commanders, in suicide bombing in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Dec. 19 (YPA) – At least 10 people were killed and others wounded, including an army commander and a commander of a special force, in a suicide bombing in front of a football stadium in central Somalia on Friday.

A security source said that a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt blew himself up in front of “Abdullah Issa” football stadium in the city of Galkayo, in the center of the country.

The attack took place while security personnel were searching Somalis, who were going to enter the stadium to listen to the speech of the Prime Minister, Mohamed Hussein Roble. As a result, 10 people were killed, including security personnel, and others were wounded, the sources explained.

According to the source, among those killed in the blast were the commander of the 21st Division of the Somali National Army, General Abdiazis Abdullahi Abdi; the commander of the 10th Brigade of Somalia’s U.S-trained Danab military unit, Colonel Mukhtar Abdi Aden; and the former mayor of Galkayo North, Mohmus Yasin Tumey.

A source in the Prime Minister’s Office said that the bombing took place before the prime minister’s arrival to the stadium, where he was supposed to address a public gathering, without details.

For its part, the armed “Al-Shabab” movement claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, according to what was reported by websites close to the movement. The authorities have not yet commented on the bombing.

YPA