Ex-parliament minister was suicide bomber in Somali attack, al-Shabab says

MOGADISHU, Somalia, July 27 (UPI) -- A former minister of parliament was one of two suicide car bombers in Tuesday's attack near the Mogadishu airport, al-Shabab claimed Wednesday.

Salah Nuh Ismail, 53, also known as Salah Badbado, carried out the attack that killed 13, including the bombers, militant group al-Shabab said. Ismail had quit the parliament in 2010 after the lawmakers were denounced as "infidels."

In Tuesday's twin bombings, one vehicle exploded outside the United Nations office and another at a base for Africa Union troops.

Al-Shabab's affiliated media, Radio Andalus, played a one-hour interview with the former parliament minister in which he sent messages to "the Somali people, the Mujahideen and the invading army" before the suicide act, Africanews reported.

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement. "The two explosions were carried out by two courageous Mujahideen suicide bombers who targeted two places where the alleged peacekeeping troops are based," the group said.

Earlier this month, al-Shabab killed 10 Somali soldiers when militants rammed a car packed with explosives into a Somali army base southwest of the capital.

My report: Tuesday's deadly #Mogadishu attack raises security concerns over planned elections in #Somalia. https://t.co/FaSmc5WF1C

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— Abdulaziz Billow Ali (@AbdulBillowAli) July 27, 2016