Alwaght-Al-Shabab Takfiri terrorist group has claimed responsibility for an attack that killed six people in the central Somali city of Beledweyne.
The deadly blast took place outside the office of the governor of the Hiran region, where he was holding a meeting, police and residents said on Sunday.
"At least six people died and several others were wounded. A suicide bomber blew up himself in a restaurant," Major Hussein Osman, a police officer, told reporters from Beledweyne. The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group said it was behind the attack.
"We are behind the attack at the Hiran governor's headquarters. There are casualties. We targeted the workers of the Hiran administration," said Abdiasis Abu Musab, an al-Shabab spokesman.
The town is about 340km north of the capital Mogadishu. Residents said clan elders were among the dead.
"The suicide bomber who had an explosive jacket stood inside the restaurant and blew up himself. We were heading to a meeting in the governor’s office when it happened," said Farah Ali, a local elder.
Somalia has been at war since 1991 when clan-based warlords overthrew long-time leader Siad Barre and then turned on each other. Since 2006, Takfiri terrorists established a foothold in Somalia spreading mayhem in the Horn of Africa state
Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliate, has in the past carried out frequent attacks in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia in a bid to topple the country's government and drive out African Union peacekeeping troops. This Takfiri terrorist group has over the recent past carried out several attacks in neighboring Kenya killing hundreds of civilians and tens of security forces.
