http://www.aminarts.com/OCT_10_2009.html
The body of the Somali Minister of Education Ibrahim Hassan Cadow was carried away from the scene of a suicide bomb attack during a university student graduation ceremony at a local hotel in Mogadishu on Thursda
NAIROBI, Kenya — In a devastating blow to Somalia’s fragile transitional government, a suicide bomber disguised as a veiled woman struck a college graduation ceremony on Thursday, killing at least 10 people, including 3 government ministers, Somali officials said, The bomber struck in a part of Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, that was thought be relatively safe, though many Somalis fear insurgents have infiltrated the government’s security forces. According to witnesses and government officials, dozens of medical students gathered on Thursday morning for a graduation ceremony at the Shamo Hotel, which was often where the few Westerners who visit Mogadishu would stay. About five high-ranking government officials, including the ministers of health and higher education and another cabinet member, were attending the ceremony. Witnesses said three ministers were killed, along with several Somali journalists and at least two surgeons in a country desperately short of doctors. The attack, said Mohammed Aden, a Somali diplomat in Nairobi, “is very, very serious, really.” “It proves the aggressive pow
er” the insurgents have, “and their determination to take over this country,” he said. “They can easily go at the heart of the system. This will create a lot of panic for all the supporters of the government.” Somalia is embroiled in civil war between a weak but internationally-backed transitional government and an extremist Islamist insurgency with ties to Al Qaeda. The country has been lawless and violent since 1991, when the central government collapsed. The United States has been shipping arms to the transitional government in the hope that it can beat back the insurgents and reclaim territory. The government currently controls only a few city blocks in a country the size of Texas. Insurgents control much of the rest. The Shamo Hotel is located in the K-5 neighborhood of Mogadishu, which is nominally under government control. But the insurgents seem to have spread to all parts of the city and, more alarmingly, into the armed forces. Thursday’s attack is certain to undermine the already shaky faith many Somalis have in their own government. In September, Islamist insurgents mounted a brazen suicide attack at one of the most heavily fortified bases in Mogadishu, killing the second in command of the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia. One peacekeeping official said it was like the insurgents “had a map of the place.”Several thousand African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu have been protecting vital government installations, such as the port and the presidential palace, but they seem powerless to push back the insurgents.The most powerful Somali insurgent group is the Shabab, which the United States has designated a foreign terrorist group. The Shabab have used suicide bombers many times before and have vowed to destroy the transitional government. The group is trying to rule all of Somalia with an austere version of Islam, and in the areas they control Shabab fighters have stoned adulterers to death and cut off the hands of teenage thieves.
Some of the government officials killed on Thursday were allied with the Shabab in 2006, when a grass-roots Islamist movement ruled most of Somalia. One of them was Ibrahim Hassan Addou, the minister of higher education. Mr. Addou was a moderate Islamist and an American citizen of Somali descent who had spent years as an administrator at American University in Washington. He was known as “the professor.”MORE..Veiled Bomber Kills 3 Somali Ministers - NYTimes.com ALSO Suicide bomber kills three Somali govt minister AND TF.SF Exclusive Pictures ,Horrific Images , WARNING -. The pictures below are very disturbing
er” the insurgents have, “and their determination to take over this country,” he said. “They can easily go at the heart of the system. This will create a lot of panic for all the supporters of the government.” Somalia is embroiled in civil war between a weak but internationally-backed transitional government and an extremist Islamist insurgency with ties to Al Qaeda. The country has been lawless and violent since 1991, when the central government collapsed. The United States has been shipping arms to the transitional government in the hope that it can beat back the insurgents and reclaim territory. The government currently controls only a few city blocks in a country the size of Texas. Insurgents control much of the rest. The Shamo Hotel is located in the K-5 neighborhood of Mogadishu, which is nominally under government control. But the insurgents seem to have spread to all parts of the city and, more alarmingly, into the armed forces. Thursday’s attack is certain to undermine the already shaky faith many Somalis have in their own government. In September, Islamist insurgents mounted a brazen suicide attack at one of the most heavily fortified bases in Mogadishu, killing the second in command of the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia. One peacekeeping official said it was like the insurgents “had a map of the place.”Several thousand African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu have been protecting vital government installations, such as the port and the presidential palace, but they seem powerless to push back the insurgents.The most powerful Somali insurgent group is the Shabab, which the United States has designated a foreign terrorist group. The Shabab have used suicide bombers many times before and have vowed to destroy the transitional government. The group is trying to rule all of Somalia with an austere version of Islam, and in the areas they control Shabab fighters have stoned adulterers to death and cut off the hands of teenage thieves.Some of the government officials killed on Thursday were allied with the Shabab in 2006, when a grass-roots Islamist movement ruled most of Somalia. One of them was Ibrahim Hassan Addou, the minister of higher education. Mr. Addou was a moderate Islamist and an American citizen of Somali descent who had spent years as an administrator at American University in Washington. He was known as “the professor.”MORE..Veiled Bomber Kills 3 Somali Ministers - NYTimes.com ALSO Suicide bomber kills three Somali govt minister AND TF.SF Exclusive Pictures ,Horrific Images , WARNING -. The pictures below are very disturbing
some background about Shamo Hotel ...habar gidir Hawiye own hotel .
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