Hardline Islamist insurgents killed Somalia's security minister and at least 24 other people on Thursday in the deadliest suicide bomb attack yet in the Horn of Africa nation, officials said.

Security Minister Omar Hashi Aden was a key player in the government offensive against Islamist rebels who control much of southern Somalia and want to impose a strict version of Islamic law in the Horn of Africa nation.

Insurgent group al Shabaab, which has links to al Qaeda, stepped up their attacks in early May to try to oust President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, but neither side has delivered a knockout blow and clashes have killed about 300 people since then.

Western nations, some of Somalia's neighbors and the government fear that if the chaos persists, more foreign fighters coming to wage holy war will be sucked into the Horn of Africa nation, increasing risks to the region.

"Al Qaeda considers Somalia a strategic place. They want to make it a safe haven for criminals," President Ahmed told a news conference. "This is an international war against Somalis. We ask the world to help us fight the international terrorists."

A suicide car bomber targeted Aden and other officials at a hotel in Baladwayne, a central town where the minister was helping direct operations against al Shabaab, which officials say has hundreds of foreign fighters in its ranks.

A senior official in the prime minister's office said Somalia's former ambassador to Ethiopia, Abdkarin Farah Laqanyo, was also killed in the explosion.

omar4u on June 18 2009 15:22:48 | 0 | 153 Reads

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