Mogadishu mayor dies of injuries week after attack

The mayor of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, who was a former Labour councilor, has died after being wounded in a suicide attack that killed at least six other people last week.

The female bomber blew herself up inside the office of Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman during a security meeting.

The mayor passed away from his injuries in Doha, Qatar, where he was receiving treatment.

Militant Islamist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.

Its apparent target was the new United Nation (UN) special envoy to Somalia, James Swan, a US citizen.

Mr Swan had already left the building after meeting the mayor on July 24.

It is unclear how the bomber managed to enter the heavily guarded building.

Other victims included high-ranking local officials.

Osman fled Somalia in the early 1990s and went on to earn a master’s degree and UK citizenship, and served as a Labour councilor in London.

He later returned to Somalia in an effort to help re-build his war-torn homeland and served as information minister before becoming mayor of Mogadishu last year.

In a tweet, the US mission to Somalia called Osman “an excellent partner and tireless advocate for the people of Mogadishu and all Somalis”.

Al-Shabab seeks to overthrow Somalia’s central government and has been carrying out regular attacks in Mogadishu, despite the heavy presence of African Union peacekeepers and US-trained Somali troops.

The group is affiliated with al-Qaeda and remains a powerful presence in rural Somalia. –BBC