One Turk among six killed in gun attack in Somalia’s capital

MOGADISHU – Reuters

Six people, including one Turkish national, were killed when unidentified gunmen attacked a minibus carrying workers to a Turkish-run hospital in the Somali capital Mogadishu on March 30, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has said. 

The gunmen, who were in a car, opened fire at the minibus as it passed in Mogadishu’s Hodan district. 

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, and al-Shabaab, the Somali militant group aligned to al Qaeda, was not immediately available for comment.

Meanwhile, Somalian officials said two Turkish people had been killed in the shooting. 

“Six civilians, two of them Turkish nationals, have been killed, and six more were wounded,” said Abdifatah Omar Halane, spokesman for the Mogadishu city authorities, according to AFP. The shooting took place late March 30, and those killed also included the driver and security guards of the Turks.

“Security forces are pursuing the attackers,” Halane said.

Somalia’s Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke condemned the attack.

“We condemn this cowardly act, and our thoughts are with the relatives of the victims and the Turkish government,” Sharmarke said in a statement. “These innocent Turkish citizens have lost their lives while supporting their Somali brothers.” 

Turkey is a major investor in, and donor to, Somalia.

In a separate attack, al-Shabaab insurgents said they carried out a suicide attack at a hotel in the central town of Galkayo March 31 in which six people died, including a senior local government official.

“There was a blast, a suicide bomber blew himself up killing several people including a senior official,” said police officer Abdiweli Adan.

Witnesses said there was large blast near a cafe where people had gathered to drink tea.

“I heard a heavy explosion and I have seen parts of dead bodies, several bits of them were strewn across the area,” said local resident Ahmed Sadaq.