Somali suicide bomber kills ministers
Source: Agencies |
December 4, 2009, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A MALE suicide bomber dressed as a woman attacked a university graduation ceremony yesterday in a small part of the capital Mogadishu still under Somali government control, killing up to 19 people, including three Cabinet ministers and three journalists.
It was a severe blow to a country long battered by war and underscored the government's tenuous hold on even a small area of the capital.
"What happened today is a national disaster," said Somali Information Minister Dahir Mohamud Gelle, who confirmed that the ministers for education, higher education and health were killed in the blast. The ministers for sports and tourism were also wounded in the attack inside the Shamo Hotel, he said.
The assailants hit one of Somalia's most important efforts to extricate itself from anarchy and violence, explaining the presence of so many top government officials.
The former medical students among the graduates came from only the second class to receive diplomas from the medical school.
The first class graduated a year ago. Before then, almost two decades had passed since anyone earned a medical degree in Somalia. In the December 2008 ceremony, held at the same hotel, the graduates proudly hoisted diplomas into the air. This year, there was mayhem as the bomb went off among 43 graduates, their families and officials, leaving the dead and wounded in bloody heaps.
More than 40 people were wounded. Students and doctors were among the dead.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion fell upon the militant group al-Shabab, which has ties to al-Qaida, controls much of the country and has carried out past suicide attacks.
"A man who disguised himself as a woman, complete with a veil and a female's shoes, is behind the explosion," Gelle said. "We even have his picture."
Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television said its Somali cameraman, Hassan Zubeir, died. Two other Somali journalists working for local outlets also died, said Bashir Khalif, a reporter for the Somali government's radio service.
A statement from the African Union's mission in Somalia said 19 people were killed. Gelle said only 15 people plus the suicide bomber died.
Somalia announced three days of mourning.
It was a severe blow to a country long battered by war and underscored the government's tenuous hold on even a small area of the capital.
"What happened today is a national disaster," said Somali Information Minister Dahir Mohamud Gelle, who confirmed that the ministers for education, higher education and health were killed in the blast. The ministers for sports and tourism were also wounded in the attack inside the Shamo Hotel, he said.
The assailants hit one of Somalia's most important efforts to extricate itself from anarchy and violence, explaining the presence of so many top government officials.
The former medical students among the graduates came from only the second class to receive diplomas from the medical school.
The first class graduated a year ago. Before then, almost two decades had passed since anyone earned a medical degree in Somalia. In the December 2008 ceremony, held at the same hotel, the graduates proudly hoisted diplomas into the air. This year, there was mayhem as the bomb went off among 43 graduates, their families and officials, leaving the dead and wounded in bloody heaps.
More than 40 people were wounded. Students and doctors were among the dead.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion fell upon the militant group al-Shabab, which has ties to al-Qaida, controls much of the country and has carried out past suicide attacks.
"A man who disguised himself as a woman, complete with a veil and a female's shoes, is behind the explosion," Gelle said. "We even have his picture."
Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television said its Somali cameraman, Hassan Zubeir, died. Two other Somali journalists working for local outlets also died, said Bashir Khalif, a reporter for the Somali government's radio service.
A statement from the African Union's mission in Somalia said 19 people were killed. Gelle said only 15 people plus the suicide bomber died.
Somalia announced three days of mourning.
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