A Somali military court on Monday sentenced two men to life imprisonment for masterminding a bomb attack on a Somali flight in February, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.
The Daallo Airlines’ A321 flight was about 15 minutes in the air after take-off when the blast took place, causing a hole in the fuselage.
Pilots then managed to land the aircraft back to Mogadishu Airport. One passenger, believed to be the bomber, was killed while two others suffered minor injuries.
Somalia’s Islamist militant group, Al-Shabaab, said it was responsible.
The court ruling said Abdiweli Mohamud Maow and Areys Hashi Abdi organised the laptop bomb attack on the passenger plane.
Maow was head of the aviation agency at the capital airport and Abdi is a member of Al-Shabaab, according to the court ruling.
Eight other people were sentenced to between six months and four years in prison for their involvement in the attack. Five other suspects were found not guilty and released.
Investigations are still underway to ascertain the identity of the killed passenger.
