Somalia confirms bomb caused blast in plane

Somali government said for the first time Saturday that a bomb had caused an explosion in a passenger plane that made an emergency landing on Tuesday.

Daallo Airlines flight to Djibouti was forced to make an emergency landing after an explosion in mid-air blew a gaping hole on the plane’s side and killed one passenger.

Ali Jama Jangali, Somalia’s transport minister told reporters that a preliminary finding from the ongoing probe into the cause of the blast indicated that a bomb was the cause.

“It was an intentional terror act – a bomb was the cause of the explosion in the plane.” He told reporters Tuesday.

However, the minister hasn’t confirmed media reports that a bomb planted in a laptop caused the blast.

The development comes as the investigation entered its fifth day Tuesday, with foreign technical experts including FBI technical experts joined the probe which officials said would be concluded this
week.

Most of the flights bound for Mogadishu have since been cancelled following the incident, as Somali government vowed it would beef up security of the Mogadishu international airport to prevent further
security threats.