[ad_1]
Al Shabaab gunmen and a suicide bombing hit a religious center in the center Somalia Monday, killing a cleric and at least 14 of his supporters, a police officer said
The Islamist militant group accused the cleric of insulting the Prophet Muhammad, which he denied.
The group was forced to leave Mogadishu in 2011 and in most cities but it maintains a strong presence outside the capital and launches frequent bombings and other attacks as part of a campaign to overthrow the federal government .
"The (security) operation is over. Al Shabaab has killed 15 people, including the cleric, his wife, his supporters and his guards," police officer Capt. Nur Mohamed told Reuters on Friday. Galkayo.
"Three militants who stormed the center were also shot dead."
The group took responsibility for the attack and increased the death toll to 26. He said soldiers who responded to the first attack also died while trying to remove a second car bomb.
"We killed 26 people, including the center's owner, his supporters, his bodyguards and his soldiers," said Abdiasis Abu Musab, spokesman for Al Shabaab's military operation.
"The owner of the center was the man who mistreated the Prophet, the soldiers who died tried to drive a second car bomb left by the armed mujahideen."
Residents of Galkayo and a regional official said that Abdiweli may also have been targeted as his center mainly hosts young people who play music and dance.
Al Shabaab said the cleric had insulted the Prophet last year, a charge denied by Abdiweli at the time.
Abdirashid Hashi, governor of the Mudug region, told Reuters that Al Shabaab had threatened Abdiweli many times.
A former Galkayo said that Abdiweli had offered free boarding to former pirates, street boys and unemployed men, who became his supporters.
He said to the teenagers: "If you were a pirate or a bandit, stop and come dance, eat, eat and sleep here. God will forgive you your sins. Some other ignorant teenagers thought that he was also holy … and so joined him, "told Reuters local elder, Ismail Abdirahman.
"We understood that there was something wrong with him, but we could not bring him to justice because the man was well armed."
Al-Shabaab is fighting to establish its own government on the basis of its harsh interpretation of Islamic law. The group controls small sections of the Mudug area, but does not include Galkayo.
Click here for the latest political news
Source link
