MOGADISHU, Somalia – Al-Shabaab attacked a small town in central Somalia targeting a military base hosting the Galmudug state President, lawmakers, and other top officials.
A suicide bomber donated his explosives-laden vehicle at the gate of the base in Las-ga’amey near Ba’adweyne district in the south of Mudug region on Friday morning.
The SNA and Galmudug state forces fired at the speeding car packed with explosives and shot dead the driver before it reached its target, according to a senior Galmudug official.
Several soldiers from the Galmudug Presidential Guard unit were killed in the attack, while others were injured. Reports say Senator Abdi Qeybdid and MP Dhaban’ad sustained wounds.
The commander of the Galmudug Dervish army, General Mohamed Nur Ali Gadaar, said that the president was unharmed and the wounded lawmakers were evacuated from the area.
The commander confirmed that Senator Abdi Qaybdid suffered a minor injury to his head while Dhaban’ad sustained wounds to the hand after the explosion destroyed the house.
The official said debris resulting from the bomb blast hit the lawmakers.
In this attack, Al-Shabaab aimed to kill the Galmudug president and his team visiting the area, which is one of the frontline zones in the Mudug region, where they were on a troop visit.
President Ahmed Abdi Kariye Qorqor who is at the frontline of Galmudug, said that he is committed to eradicating Al-Shabaab from the areas under his regional state’s control.
