Suicide bombing kills six in Somalia’s Puntland

By Nour Gedi

MOGADISHU

At least six people were killed in a suicide bombing in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland state on Thursday.

A bomber blew himself up in a hotel in the town of Galkayo, some 650 kilometers (404 miles) northeast of the capital Mogadishu, Mahmud Ahmed, an eyewitness, told Anadolu Agency.

A local Somali official said at least six people, the head of the finances for Puntland state, were killed in the attack.

The al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab group, which is fighting to overthrow the UN-backed Somali government, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

"The mujahedeen fighters targeted the head of the finances for Puntland in the Mudug region, and together with five of his security guards they were killed in the attack," a group spokesman told the pro-Shabaab Andalus radio.

There has been no comment from Somali authorities on Thursday's attack

Puntland has been a self-declared autonomous state in northeastern Somalia since 1998.

Al-Shabaab emerged from the chaos of Somalia's civil war and in recent years it has carried out a number of attacks in Somalia and in neighboring countries, including Kenya.