Bomb Blast on UN Bus Kills at Least Six in Somalia
Local Editor
At least six UN workers were killed in Somalia on Monday when a huge bomb placed by Shebab militants destroyed a bus in the northeastern town of Garowe, police said.
The head of the United Nations in Somalia, Nick Kay, condemned the attack and said he was "shocked and appalled by (the) loss of life".
Somalia's al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab insurgents claimed responsibility for the attack, branding the United Nations a "colonization force in Somalia".
"We have confirmed the death of six UN staff, including a foreign national," Somali police official Abdullahi Mohamed said. "The bomb is believed to have been attached to the minibus and was detonated near the UN office."
Witnesses and security officials suggested the explosion could also have come from a roadside bomb that was detonated as the minibus, which is used to transport staff from a guesthouse to the UN compound, was passing.
Garowe, in the northeastern region of Somalia, is capital of the semi-autonomous Puntland region.
"Investigations are still ongoing to establish how it happened but I can confirm you that the UN compound was not affected," Mohamed added.
A UN representative in Somalia was unable immediately to confirm the death toll.
Shebab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab confirmed the extremist group had carried out the attack.
"We targeted the UN in Garowe, we killed some and wounded others. They are part of the colonization force in Somalia," he added.
Earlier this month Shebab gunmen attacked Garissa University in the northeast of the country, killing nearly 150 people, mostly students.
Attacks against the United Nations are also common. In December four people were killed when a suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a UN convoy in the capital Mogadishu.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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