Suicide bomber kills at least 12 people as Somalia prepares to vote

A suicide bombing in central Somalia left at least 12 people dead and 14 others injured, a police officer said by phone.

The attack targeted a restaurant in Beledweyne, said officer Mohamed Dahir, and comes as the country prepares to hold parliamentary elections February 25 that will decide on the nation’s next president.

In Somalia, clan delegates and state legislatures select lawmakers for the national parliament, who then pick the president.

Somalia is struggling to rebuild after two decades of civil war and amid an insurgency by al-Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked group the federal government is fighting with the help of neighbouring states, the US and the European Union. 

The insurgency group claimed responsibility for the attack through Somalimemo, a pro-al-Shabaab media outlet. Several other attacks have taken place in recent weeks in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, which police also suspect al-Shabaab carried out.

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