Somaliland: Blames Suicide Attacks on al-Shabab
Below is an article published by VOA News:
Officials in the region of Somaliland are blaming the Islamist militant group al-Shabab for last month's [October 2008] suicide bombings in the regional capital Hargeisa.
Addressing reporters Thursday [27 November 2008], Somaliland's interior minister, Abdullahi Ismail Ali, said an investigation found that two al-Shabab leaders masterminded the attacks. He identified them as Ahmed Abdi Godane and Mukhtar Roobow Abu-Mansuur.
The minister said other militants led by a man called Abdulfatah Abdullahi Guutaale carried out the bombings.
The bombers attacked a United Nations office, an Ethiopian consulate, and the presidential palace in Hargeisa October 29 [2008]. At least 24 people were killed.
Somaliland, located in northern Somalia, has mostly been spared the violence that has wracked southern Somalia as insurgent groups like al-Shabab battle the Somali transitional government.
The U.S. government considers al-Shabab a terrorist organization.
The group is believed to have links to al-Qaida.
Somaliland declared itself separate from the rest of Somalia in 1991 and runs its own affairs, though it is not recognized internationally.