Al-Shabaab, which has ties with al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted officials from Puntland, a semiautonomous state in northeastern Somalia.
The bomber blew himself up among a group of people at a café near a hotel in the town of Galkayo, Somalia, on Thursday, said Ali Aden.
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted officials from Puntland, a semiautonomous state in northeastern Somalia.
Galkayo, located in the central region of Mudug, is divided into two zones, with one zone falling under Puntland’s control, while the other is controlled by Galmudug, a regional administration formed by Somalia’s federal government as parts of the new federalism the government aims to adopt in the country.
Attacks by Islamic extremists in central Somalia are rare in the town.
Al-Shabaab, which has ties with al-Qaeda, has been carrying out a campaign of deadly violence targeting government officials, government and international troops. Neighboring Kenya, which has sent troops to fight the Islamic extremists in Somalia, has been repeatedly attacked by al-Shabab.
At least six people, including two Turkish doctors, were killed in a drive-by shooting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Wednesday.
Al-Shabaab was pushed out of the Somali capital Mogadishu in 2011, but still controls some rural towns, especially in the southern parts of the country.
