A bomb blast rocked Somalia's newly
reopened national theater in the capital city Wednesday, killing two top
sports officials.
Witnesses reported other casualties, but it was unclear how many.
Said Mohamed Mugambe,
head of the Somali football federation, and Somali Olympic committee
chief Adan Hagi Yabarow Wish were killed in the attack, a hospital
official told CNN.
The bomb went off during a
celebration for the first anniversary of Somali national television in
Mogadishu, according to witnesses. Screaming people fled the theater and
ambulance sirens filled the air.
The African Union Mission
in Somalia (AMISOM) said the device had been detonated by a female
suicide bomber who blended in with the crowd gathered for the occasion.
Several civilians were killed and injured but no Somali government ministers were hurt, the group said in a statement.
Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali was reportedly among those attending the celebration.
The attack on a high
profile event in the heart of the capital is seen as a big symbolic blow
to Somalia's attempts to reinvent itself on the international stage
after years as a failed state.
Sepp Blatter, president of football's governing body FIFA, said he was shocked by the news of the two sports officials' deaths.
"I knew both men
personally and can only say good things about their endless efforts to
promote sport and football in their country. They will be sorely
missed," he said.
FIFA's vice president,
Prince Ali, also extended his condolences to the victims' families. "We
have faith that the football family is resilient and will continue
promoting the values of peace and coexistence through our beautiful
game," the Jordanian prince said.
The Islamist group
Al-Shabaab, which has been waging war against Somalia's weak
transitional government, claimed responsibility for the bombing via
Twitter.
A post to the group's
Twitter page said the explosives had been planted before the gathering
and denied that a woman had carried out the attack.
Brig. Gen. Audace Nduwumunsi, deputy force commander of AMISOM, condemned the bombing.
"We are united with the
Somali government and stand firm together. This was a despicable crime
against the Somali people, but it will not stop us achieving peace in
Somalia," he said.
"Yet again the
terrorists' methods show that they are enemies of peace and are foreign
to Somali culture. By their attack they are trying to derail the hopes
and dreams of the Somali people but they will fail."
He urged anyone in Mogadishu with information about planned attacks to come forward.
The Islamist group
announced in February that it was tightening its ties to al Qaeda and
has long been considered a terrorist movement by the United States.
It has waged an
insurgency against the feeble Transitional Federal Government since 2007
but has suffered recent setbacks in its heartland in southern Somalia.
AMISOM and government
forces drove Al-Shabaab fighters from the center of Mogadishu last year,
while Kenyan troops crossed into southern Somalia in October to hit
back for a rash of kidnappings it blamed on the group.
But despite their efforts, Al-Shabaab has continued to launch terror attacks in the capital.
Last month, it claimed
responsibility for an attack in which a suicide bomber detonated himself
at a tea shop near Somalia's presidential palace, killing two people.
A report released by the
UK-based Royal United Services Institute think tank Wednesday
highlights how al Qaeda is seeking to reinvigorate and expand its
operations by strengthening ties with established Islamist groups such
as Al-Shabaab.
Al-Shabaab is also
increasingly working to recruit members from outside Somalia's borders,
the report says, presenting a new challenge for Western nations.
"The group has sought to
expand its recruitment network by tapping into the pool of foreign
jihadists and radicalised individuals in the Middle East, Europe and the
US," author Valentina Soria writes.
However, this may be a
sign of waning domestic support in the face of military operations and
food shortages, she says, and there is no evidence so far that it will
lead to attacks by Al-Shabaab on targets overseas.
World leaders met in
London in February to address terror and conflict in the Horn of Africa
nation and seek ways to resolve other critical problems, including
famine and weak leadership.
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