Mogadishu mayor survives attempt on his life

Mogadishu Mayor, Hassan Mohamed Manguud, had by chance escaped an attempt on his life when an explosive device, planted in his car earlier, went off in the Somali capital.

The device went off a very short time before Manguud got into the car on Saturday, totally destroying it, according to a Somali government official.

“The mayor himself was unhurt in the explosion,” government spokesman, Ridwaan Abdiweli, told Anadolu Agency.

He said Manguud had just finished addressing a meeting before he headed to his vehicle a short time before the bomb went off.

Even with this, Abdiweli said, three people were injured in the blast. He added that the authorities had not arrested anybody in connection with the failed assassination attempt.

A short time earlier on Saturday, African Union (A.U.) troops and Somalia’s National Army had seized what some people described as the largest weapons cache in the Somali capital.

The arms were found in a motor garage during a major search operation in Mogadishu.

The cache includes 151 grenades; 238 multi-Grenade launchers; sniper rifles; 43 boxes of motor fuses;  rocket-propelled  grenade pipes, and rocket-propelled grenade shells. It also included various types of explosives and an assortment of guns.

A.U. Commander in Somalia, Lt Gen. Silas Ntiguriwa, thanked the public for offering information that led his forces to the weapons cache.

The Somali capital has been the scene of growing violence, one that is masterminded in the most part by the militant Al-Shabaab movement, which has been battling the government for control for several years now.

The movement claimed responsibility for the murder of Somali legislator and noted musician, Saado Warsame, a few days ago.

World Bulletin/News Desk