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Former Somali defense minister killed in car bomb attack in Mogadishu

No groups immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came a day after militants with al-Shabab said they were behind a recent failed bombing on a Somali passenger plane.

By Fred Lambert
An AMISOM soldier stands outside parliament in Mogadishu after an attack by al-Shabab in 2014. Somalia's former defense minister was killed in a car bomb attack as he left a party meeting in the capital on Monday. AMISOM Photo by David Mutua/ Wikimedia Commons
An AMISOM soldier stands outside parliament in Mogadishu after an attack by al-Shabab in 2014. Somalia's former defense minister was killed in a car bomb attack as he left a party meeting in the capital on Monday. AMISOM Photo by David Mutua/ Wikimedia Commons

MOGADISHU, Somalia, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A former Somalia defense minister was killed Monday in a car bomb attack as he left a meeting in Mogadishu, witnesses and officials said.

Muhiyadin Mohamed Haji Ibrahim was a member of the Kulan political party and was acting as an adviser to Somalia's parliament.

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A police official told Voice of America that an explosive device had been planted beneath Ibrahim's car and detonated as he left a party gathering in the capital's KM4 neighborhood.

No groups immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, but it resembled previous attacks by al-Qaida-linked terrorist group al-Shabab.

The incident occurred one day after al-Shabab claimed it was behind a failed bombing of a passenger plane on Feb. 2.

Investigators and witnesses said the attack on Daallo Airlines flight A321 claimed only one victim -- the alleged bomber, who was sucked out of a hole blown into the fuselage after detonating his bomb at 11,000 feet.

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