Top army chiefs safe after car bomb at hotel in Somalia; 7 dead

GALKAYO, Somalia – A new senior Commander of the Somali National Army (SNA) has narrowly escaped from a car bomb explosion at a hotel in central town on Saturday night, Garowe Online reports.

Initial reports indicate that at least seven people, including soldiers, lost their lives after an explosives-laden vehicle was detonated at an upscale hotel in southern Galkayo, where senior military officials were staying.

Capt. Ahmed Jama, a police officer has confirmed to Garowe Online that the car bomb went off at the entrance of the hotel, targeting the newly appointed SNA’s infantry forces chief General Abdihamid Mohamed Dirir.

"A car packed with explosives being driven to carry out an attack at the hotel collided with a parked military vehicle and exploded outside before it reached its target. Seven people, among them civilians died on the spot," said Jama.

Dirir who was appointed last October and the commander of the army’s 21st Division General Abdiaziz Mohamed Qooje are safe after the attack which took place during a meeting at the hotel with local security officials, according to sources.

Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in the Galmudug-administered southern Galkayo.

The new chief of the ground troops has been in the Mudug region for days on a peace mission to intervene in bloody inter-clan fighting outside Galkayo town, which killed dozens of people early this month.

Al-Shabaab was ejected from Mogadishu in 2011 and has since been driven from most of its other strongholds. The group remains a major security threat, with fighters frequently carrying out bombings in most parts of the country.

GAROWE ONLINE