Somali’s Army Chief Escapes Assassination Attempt
“Elmi, also known as Indha Qarshe, escaped an assassination attempt when an explosion targeted his car on his way to the Defense Ministry headquarters,” security forces said, according to Turkish Anadolu Agency.
The forces said a landmine was detonated remotely as Elmi’s convoy was passing by in Hodan district, south of Mogadishu.
“The explosion damaged the commander’s car and slightly injured some of his guards,” they added.
They went on to say that army troops cordoned off the area and launched a search operation for the perpetrators.
No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the Somali authorities usually point the finger at the Al-Shabaab movement.
On Saturday, National Security Minister Abdikarim Hussein Guled resigned, only hours after 27 people were killed in a daring attack on the parliament headquarters in Mogadishu.
The attack, which was immediately claimed by Al-Shabaab, came shortly after a booby-trapped car went off outside the building.
The parliament was in session at the time of the attack and many lawmakers were given aid by policemen to exit the building.
Somalia, a long-troubled Horn of Africa, has been in the grip of political violence since the outbreak of civil war in 1991.
The battered country, however, had appeared to inch closer to stability with the recent installation of a new government and the intervention of African Union troops – led by Kenya – tasked with combatting Al-Shabaab.
farsnews.com