A prominent Somali journalist who was a critic of the al-Shabab armed group was killed by a suicide bomber as he was leaving a restaurant in the capital, Mogadishu, relatives and officials said.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the blast, which killed Radio Mogadishu director Abdiaziz Mohamud Guled, commonly known as Abdiaziz Afrika. The attack wounded several other people, including the director of Somali National Television and a driver.
“My cousin Abdiaziz was killed by a suicide bomber immediately after he went out to a restaurant … He died as he was rushed to hospital,” his cousin, Abdullahi Nur, told Reuters news agency.
“He always shone a big light on al-Shabab, may God rest his soul,” Abdullahi added.
In a statement, Somalia’s Deputy Information Minister Abdirahman Yusuf Omar said the country had lost a “brave man”.
Government official Ismael Mukhtar Omar, an ex-colleague of Abdiaziz, told AFP news agency that police had confirmed that the blast had been caused by a suicide bomber.
“He came out of the restaurant and went into his car with a colleague after they had dinner and the suicide bomber ran onto the car window and detonated himself,” said another colleague Ali Mohamed.
Al-Shabab, which is waging a violent armed campaign against the country’s fragile government and often targets political, security or civilian targets, claimed responsiblity for the attack.
“The mujahideen had been hunting Abdiaziz for a long time. He committed crimes against Islam, he was involved in the killing of mujahideens,” Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabab military operation spokesperson, told Reuters by phone.
Abdiaziz was well known for his interviews with al-Shabab suspects detained by the Somali security forces and his programmes attracted large audiences inside and outside the country.
SPORTS
Liverpool End Arsenal’s 10-Match Unbeaten Run with Devastating 4-0 Win
Liverpool ended Arsenal’s 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions with a devastatingly routine victory at Anfield.
Sadio Mane grabbed the opener when he headed in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick in the first half.
Diogo Jota took advantage of a Nuno Tavares mistake to roll into an empty net before Mohamed Salah slotted home a Mane cross for the third.
Right-back Alexander-Arnold was the provider again when he teed up Japanese substitute Takumi Minamino to make it 4-0 with his first touch, just 48 seconds after coming on.
Victory for Liverpool sees them jump up to second in the Premier League, while Arsenal remain in fifth.
Liverpool 4-0 Arsenal: Jurgen Klopp happy with ‘mature’ performance
It was a tame affair between the two long-standing rivals for most of the game but Liverpool showed their quality with a ruthless second-half display.
Jurgen Klopp’s side controlled possession before the break and had the best chances – Salah, Alexander-Arnold and Thiago were all denied by Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Ramsdale was kept busy throughout and reacted well to stop Mane scrambling it in off the floor and made a decent save to prevent a second goal from Jota later on.
Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka were a threat on the counter-attack but Alisson was comfortable when he was called into action and centre-back pairing Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip were solid for Liverpool.
Despite the four goals, it was rarely a contest which burst into life, though a touchline scrap between managers Klopp and Mikel Arteta ignited a reaction from the crowd in the first half.
Arsenal completely crashed – boss Arteta
Comfortable evening for Liverpool
Mikel Arteta has a spat with Jurgen Klopp
Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp were shown yellow cards in the first half for a touchline scrap
Liverpool went into the match knowing victory would see them move up to second place after West Ham were beaten at Wolves.
Arsenal, who have been in good form and were just two points behind Liverpool prior to kick-off, were limited to few chances at Anfield.
On the occasions when Saka and Aubameyang were able to get in behind Liverpool’s defence, it was often in wide areas and Fabinho provided an impressive shield in midfield to hold off further danger.
Liverpool lacked intensity in the first half but got the opener through Mane, making use of the ever-reliable delivery of Alexander-Arnold.
Liverpool 4-0 Arsenal: Arsenal ‘threw the game away’ in the second half, says Mikel Arteta
That provided them with a platform in the second half and once Jota made it 2-0, the spaces opened up for Liverpool to exploit Arsenal, who had no choice but to push players forward.
Recent battles between the two have proven more dramatic but this was as comfortable as Liverpool could have hoped for and reaffirmed their title challenge.
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