Mogadishu Mayor 'Still Unconscious' After Suicide Attack

THURSDAY JULY 25 2019
   
Mogadishu Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman is still unconscious after suicide bomb attack at his office. He will be taken to Turkey for treatment, officials say. PHOTO | GETTY IMAGES | BBC

In Summary
A female suicide bomber blew herself up inside the mayor's office during a security meeting.
Militant Islamist group al-Shabaab says it carried out the attack, hoping to target the new UN special envoy to Somalia, James Swan, a US citizen.

The mayor of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, is to be flown to Turkey for treatment along with several others injured in Wednesday's suicide attack that killed six people, officials have told BBC Somali.

Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman is still unconscious, the officials, who did not want to be named, said.

A female suicide bomber blew herself up inside the mayor's office during a security meeting.

Militant Islamist group al-Shabaab says it carried out the attack, hoping to target the new UN special envoy to Somalia, James Swan, a US citizen.

But he had met the mayor earlier, leaving before the blast occurred.

In a statement condemning the attack, Mr Swan said that it "not only demonstrates a violent disregard for the sanctity of human life, but also targets Somalis working to improve the lives of their fellow Somalis".

It is unclear how the bomber managed to enter the heavily guarded building.

The victims, five men and one woman, were all government officials, the BBC was told.

Al-Shabaab seeks to overthrow Somalia's central government and has been carrying out regular attacks in Mogadishu, despite the heavy presence of African Union peacekeepers and US-trained Somali troops.

The group is affiliated with al-Qaeda and remains a powerful presence in rural Somalia.