A Somalia National Army soldier has narrated how he intercepted a suspected Al-Shabaab suicide bomber on Thursday evening, in one of the most dramatic and encouraging security operations.
Ahmed Hussein, a soldier who had trained with AMISOM, suspected that unidentified man, who was arrested later on, was plotting something when he asked for time to cite a poem at VIP area.
But the hawk-eyed soldier could not believe him. He immediately threw him out of the dais and wrestled him to the ground. Upon search, several explosives were recovered.
"Meet Ahmed Hussein Diriye, the soldier whose quick action averted suicide bombing in Guri-El town. “Towards the end of the ceremony he (would-be bomber) said he wants to read a poem, I felt he was plotting something else, I grabbed his hands and held on,” he said.
Had the explosives gone off, said journalist Harun Maruf, the entire Suri leadership of Central Somalia would have perished in the deadly explosion.
"The entire leadership of Sufi leadership in central Somalia could have been wiped out if this attack had succeeded. Spiritual leader Moallim Mohamud Sheikh Hassan, cabinet chief Sheikh Ahmed Shakir, Executive leader Abdirazak Ash’ari and other senior leaders were at this event," he noted.
The major security milestone came amid ongoing strained relationship between Kenya and Somalia. While Nairobi insists her decisions to wage crackdown at her airports is due to insecurity in Somalia, sources have linked the move to disputed maritime boundary.
On Friday, President Mohammed Farmajo was forced to snub Nairobi for South Africa directly, days after security forces turned away a government minister and two MPs at JKAI.
"President Farmaajo avoids transiting through Nairobi on his way to Pretoria for the swearing in ceremony of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa amidst diplomatic tension between #Somalia and Kenya following the detention of a Somali minister & 2 Senators this week," RTN Somali TV reported.