Al-Shabaab claims responsibility for suicide blast that killed Somali governor

Abdisalan Hassan Hersi, governor of the Nugaal region in Somalia was killed in a suicide blast that occurred on March 28 in Garowe. According to reports, Al-Shabaab, an armed fundamentalist group based out of East Africa, claimed the responsibility for the suicide attack. Abdisalan Hassan Hersi was rushed to a hospital in Garowe, the capital of Puntland, where he succumbed to his injuries and was declared dead. 

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According to reports, the governor died an hour after he was admitted to the hospital with blast wounds. A source at the hospital told the press that Abdisalan Hassan Hersi was in critical condition when he was admitted to the hospital and it was highly unlikely that he would have survived the blast injuries. Media reports say, a former police commander and a civilian were also wounded in the attack and are now being treated in the same hospital. 

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Several eyewitnesses who were present at the time of the blast reportedly described that an attacker went running to the governor's vehicle before detonating the bomb, killing himself on the spot and injuring three others, including Abdisalan Hassan Hersi, who later died in the hospital. As per reports, the responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Al-Shabaab group in a statement. 

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Al-Shabaab

Al-Shabaab is a terrorist group that pledges allegiance to Al-Qaeda in 2012 and is fighting the internationally recognised government of Somalia. The group has suffered major setbacks in the past few years as they lost the capital Mogadishu in 2011 and lost most of their strongholds in the region. The militant group currently controls parts of Somalia's rural areas. According to a 2014 report, Al-Shabaab's troop strength was estimated at 7,000 to 9,000 militants. The group also operates in parts of Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Yemen. 

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(Image Credit: AP)