Somali government spokesman wounded in militant attack

The vehicle wreckage of Somalia’s government spokesperson Mohamed Ibrahim is seen at the scene of an explosion in Mogadishu, yesterday.

A Somali government spokesman was wounded yesterday in an attack by the Al Shebaab militant group, though his wounds are “not serious,” the prime minister’s office said. Yesterday’s attack, which Al Shebaab said it was behind, came after Somali leaders agreed this month to wrap up parliamentary elections by February 25, following repeated delays that have threatened the stability of the troubled country. More than a year of delays had deepened bitter tensions between Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble and President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, better known by his nickname Farmajo, amid fears their squabbling could erupt into violence. “The spokesman of the Somali Federal government was wounded in a terrorist attack, his injuries are not serious and we wish him quick recovery,” the office said in a statement. Multiple sources said the attacker, who was killed in the incident, attempted to get onto the spokesman’s car before detonating explosives, partially destroying the vehicle. “A suicide bomber jumped onto a vehicle transporting the spokesman of the government Mohamed Ibrahim, he was lucky to have survived with light injuries,” said a policeman at the scene of the attack, Mohamed Farah. “Two other people got injured in the blast.” Witnesses confirmed that the attacker had pressed himself against the car before a loud explosion was heard. One witness, Abdirahman Moalin Ali, said he had seen “human body parts strewn across the area”. Al Shebaab swiftly claimed the attack.