Al-Shabaab kills regional police chief, bodyguard in Somalia
Xinhua, January 22, 2017 Adjust font size:
A police boss and his bodyguard died on Saturday evening after a grenade attack blamed on Al-Shabaab militants in Jowhar town located in Somalia's Hirshabelle State.
Abdi Hussein, the Deputy speaker of parliament representing Hirshabelle state in Jowhar town, confirmed to Xinhua on Sunday the death of the regional police boss named Khalif Abdulle Arfaye and his bodyguard.
"Both the regional police boss and his bodyguard died after a grenade attack in his home by Al-Shabaab fighters. Three security officers sustained injuries and are recuperating in hospital," said Hussein.
He added that Somali forces were in hot pursuit of Al-Shabaab militants who killed the regional police boss.
Al-Shabaab spokesman confirmed fighters from the Al-Qaida linked terrorist group were behind the murder of the police boss and his bodyguard.
Jowhar town is the administrative capital of Hirshabelle State in Somalia and it is located 90 kilometers north of the capital Mogadishu.
The region has not been experiencing attacks from Al-Shabaab in the recent past. Endit