According to police and medical sources, a suicide bomb blast claimed by the al-Shabab armed group killed a local official in north-eastern Somalia.
Abdisalan Hassan Hersi, governor of Nugaal region, succumbed to his wounds after being rushed to hospital in Garowe, the capital of Puntland where the blast occurred Sunday.
Mohamed Weli, a police officer in Puntland said that doctors tried their best to save the governor’s life, but unfortunately, he died from his injuries. Mohamed added that he was in a critical condition when he was admitted to the hospital.
A source at the hospital, who did not wish to be identified, said the governor died less than an hour after being admitted to the intensive care ward. The source stated that he was badly wounded in the blast, and he had little chance of surviving such serious injuries.
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A former police commander and a civilian also wounded in the blast were being treated in hospital, officials said on Monday.
Several witnesses described the attacker running at the governor’s vehicle before detonating a suicide vest, triggering an explosion.
Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked armed group fighting to overthrow Somalia’s internationally recognised government, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement.
The group was driven out of the capital, Mogadishu, in 2011 and lost most of their strongholds, but still control vast swathes of the countryside.
