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Abdirahman Omar Osman: Mogadishu mayor dies after suicide bombing | Abdirahman Omar Osman: Mogadishu mayor dies after suicide bombing |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The mayor of Somalia's capital Mogadishu has died a week after being wounded in a suicide attack that killed at least six other people. | |
The female bomber blew herself up inside the office of Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman during a security meeting. | The female bomber blew herself up inside the office of Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman during a security meeting. |
Mr Osman, who fled to the UK during the civil war in the 1990s, became a councillor in London before returning in 2008 to help rebuild Somalia. | |
Militant Islamist group al-Shabab said it carried out the attack. | |
The mayor died in Doha, Qatar, where he was receiving treatment. | |
Al-Shabab's apparent target was the new UN special envoy to Somalia, James Swan, a US citizen. He had already left the building after meeting the mayor on 24 July. | |
It is unclear how the bomber managed to enter the heavily guarded offices. | |
Other victims included high-ranking local officials. | Other victims included high-ranking local officials. |
Who was the mayor? | Who was the mayor? |
Mr Osman fled Somalia in the early 1990s as a refugee, before achieving a postgraduate degree and UK citizenship. He also served as a councillor for the centre-left Labour Party in the London borough of Ealing. | |
He returned to Somalia in 2008, where he served as information minister before becoming mayor of Mogadishu last year. | |
In a tweet, the US mission to Somalia called Osman "an excellent partner and tireless advocate for the people of Mogadishu and all Somalis". | In a tweet, the US mission to Somalia called Osman "an excellent partner and tireless advocate for the people of Mogadishu and all Somalis". |
Al-Shabab seeks to overthrow Somalia's central government and has been carrying out regular attacks in Mogadishu, despite the heavy presence of African Union peacekeepers and US-trained Somali troops. | Al-Shabab seeks to overthrow Somalia's central government and has been carrying out regular attacks in Mogadishu, despite the heavy presence of African Union peacekeepers and US-trained Somali troops. |
The group is affiliated with al-Qaeda and remains a powerful presence in rural Somalia. | The group is affiliated with al-Qaeda and remains a powerful presence in rural Somalia. |