Ikran Tahil's mother: MP Amina's murder was pre-meditated

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Qali Mohamud Gulad, the mother of slain National Intelligence Security Agency [NISA] cyber security chief Ikran Tahil, now says the death of Amina Mohamed Abdi, an MP from HirShabelle, was intelligently planned and executed by state actors.

Amina Mohamed, a candidate for a third-term Member of Parliament, was killed in Beledweyne town in HirShabelle on Wednesday night in a suicide explosion to which Al-Shabaab has taken responsibility. HirShabelle President Ali Gudlawe Hussein said over 50 people died in the attack.

But according to Qali Mohamud, the slain legislator was targeted in the attack, noting that it was carefully planned by the people who were trailing her. She insists the MP bore the price of fighting for justice of her daughter, whose death caused ripples in Somalia last year.

Ikran Tahil went missing in June 2021 but her employer, NISA, would later say she was abducted and subsequently, executed by Al-Shabaab militants. However, the Somalia-based Al-Qaeda linked group denied the allegations.

And Abdi, 32, who died on Wednesday, joined Tahil's family in calling for justice both inside and outside parliament. The family directly accused Fahad Yasin and four other senior intelligence officials of allegedly being responsible for the NISA agent's death.

So fragile was Tahil's death that Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble sacked NISA boss Fahad Yasin, leading to a fierce confrontation between him and Farmaajo. The outgoing president would later reinstate Yasin as his National Security Advisor.

The death of the MP has also sparked outrage in Somalia, with former Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud calling for an international probe while former HirShabelle leader Mohamed Abdi Waare terming it as an "assassination" by Villa Somalia. However, Farmaajo termed it as a "terrorist" attack.

"A girl was away from us at first, but now our other daughter has been killed. Everyone who spoke out against the Ikraan case is being pursued," she said, adding that she offered her condolences to the victims.

Wednesday's explosions at Beledweyne town in the Hiraan region also leftover 108 people injured. Hours earlier, another attack at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu left close to 10 people dead, and Al-Shabaab had taken responsibility.

Late Amina Mohamed Abdi and former parliamentarian Hassan Ali Abdi Dhuhul were buried in Mogadishu on Friday.

Terror attacks have intensified in the Horn of Africa nation despite assurance by security forces that security had been heightened to allow the country to hold peaceful elections. Somalia is yet to conclude elections, over a year later after the tenure of Farmaajo expired.

GAROWE ONLINE