Al-Shabaab claims bomb attack on senior district officials in Somalia

GARBAHAREY, Somalia - A host of senior government officials on Sunday were ambushed in Somalia, in the latest attack targeting government officials in the Horn of Africa nation, which has struggled with instability for the last three decades, despite efforts to unite the country.

Al-Shabaab said it attacked a vehicle carrying Luuq DC Ahmed Bule and police chief Abdullahi Hussein on Sunday, causing unspecified casualties, in what seemed to be a coordinated attack part of the violence in the country.

The officials were on their way to Dolow district from Luuq when they came under ambush by suspected Al-Shabaab militants. The Al-Shabaab militants often target senior security officers and government officials and at times, they attack innocent civilians through IEDs.

The attack comes a day after the KDF convoy hit by IEDs while traveling on Tabta-Dhobley road. AlShabaab claimed 17 soldiers Kenyan soldiers were killed in the bombing.

But initial assessment shows that only four soldiers died in the attack and two Kenya Defense Forces [KDF] vehicles were destroyed during the attack within the Lower Jubba region.

Gedo region has been witnessing skirmishes in the past one year, with Al-Shabaab being the major architect of violence. However, there have also been attacks among security forces especially between the Somali National Army and the Jubaland forces.

The region has played host to tough political contests pitting the Federal Government of Somalia and the Jubaland state. President Farmajo and Jubaland president Ahmed Madobe have been wrangling over the control of Gedo.

KDF has sent around 3,500 soldiers to Somalia in 2011 to fight against Al-Shabaab and a year later the troops joined AMISOM running Sector II and VI of the AU mission.

The KDF has been facing deadly attacks on their bases from the Al-Shabaab despite managing to liberate several strategic towns in the country, according to authorities.

GAROWE ONLINE