Somali Interior Minister Abdishakur Sheikh Hassan died on Friday after a suicide attack at his home, apparently carried out by a niece, a security official told AFP.
Somalia interior minister Abdishakur Sheikh Hassan (C) walks with troops as he visits one of the frontlines in southern Mogadishu in February 2011 Photo: AFP
"The minister died in hospital," Adan Mohamed said. "The information we have so far indicates that a young woman, the minister's niece, carried out the attack."
The statement was confirmed by other security sources, who said the woman had stayed at the minister's Mogadishu home for the last three days.
"The minister passed away and was killed in a terrorist attack," Information Minister Adulkarim Jama told Radio Mogadishu.