A senior Somali government official was on Friday killed after a remote-controlled explosive device exploded in Somalia.
In the incident that happened just a few kilometres from the Kenya-Somalia border, the explosive device instantly killed the Deputy District Commissioner of Mahaas bordering Mandera County. Al-Shabaab has since claimed responsibility.
Reporting the incident, Voice of America (VOA) journalist Harun Maruf said Abdirashid Osman Arab died on the spot after a remote-controlled explosive went off.
"Deputy district commissioner of Mahaas in Hiran region of Somalia has been killed in an explosion. Abdirashid Osman Arab was killed by a remote-controlled explosion in the center of the town on Friday, per officials. Two others were injured in the attack claimed by Al-Shabaab," Maruf wrote in his social media update.
The Friday incident happened exactly a week after two Cuban doctors attached to the Mandera County Referral Hospital went missing after abduction by Al-Shabaab insurgents.
This notwithstanding, the Kenyan authorities have instituted a multiagency search for the missing duo reportedly said to be holed up in El Adde.
In the past, border counties of Mandera, Wajir and Garissa have been witnessing frequent Al-Shabaab attacks, with locals being criticised for working with terrorist elements.