Somalia: Man convicted of smuggling bomb into plane dies in prison

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A man who was convicted of smuggling a laptop bomb into a plane in Somalia has died in prison, authorities confirmed, over five years since his trial and subsequent conviction which remains one of the most successful terrorism trials in the country.

Abdiweli Mohamed Maow, the former head of Mogadishu airport security, died on Friday, becoming one of the very many prisoners who have died in jail within the Horn of Africa nation. Details about his illness still remain scanty due to strict protocols.

The man, who was convicted for helping to smuggle a laptop bomb onto Daallo airlines has died in hospital after illness according to government reports. The court had termed him a dangerous "terrorist" with the capacity to destroy many lives within the country.

Maow was serving life for his role in the failed attempt to bring down the plane in February 2016, further reports indicate. His death comes amid surging Al-Shabaab attacks within the Horn of Africa nation which is struggling with instability.

In recent weeks, Al-Shabaab militants have been targeting security forces within the country, killing a number of them in the process. For instance, the militants raided a Burundian AU forces base in Central Somalia, killing at least dozens of soldiers in the process.

Elsewhere, one of Somalia’s greatest scholars Sheikh Ali Warsame has passed away according to reports. Sheikh Ali was a well-known Salafi scholar and the first leader of Al-Ittihad Al-Islam, a jihadi organization formed in the early 1980s which essentially paved way for the emergence of Al-Shabaab.

Al-Shabaab has been the most dominant Al-Qaida associate within Africa and one of the most well-funded outfits according to State Department. The US has been working closely with authorities in Somalia to degrade the group, which controls large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia.

GAROWE ONLINE