Somalia: Police officer hurt in car bomb succumbs to his wounds

GALKAYO, Somalia – A senior Somali police commander has died on Tuesday morning, succumbing to critical wounds he sustained in a car bombing in Galkayo city, Mudug regional capital on Monday, 1st July, Garowe Online reports.

Major Awil Nur Roble, who was the chief of the police in the city’s southern part, was hospitalized after being injured in an explosion resulted from an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted in his vehicle.

The Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab extremist group has claimed the full responsibility for the bomb attack that left Roble dead through a statement posted on its affiliated media online sites.

The latest reports from the town indicate that local forces have launched an operation following the blast and rounded up several suspects in connection with the terror incident.

The explosion comes amid relative calm despite an uptick in rape cases in the city which is divided into two parts with the south governed by Galmudug state while the north is under Puntland government.

Last year, the two neighboring Somali Federal Member States have established joint police forces with the support of the United Nations (UN) to ensure the security in the central city after a series of killings and clashes.

GAROWE ONLINE