A Somali employee of the International Committee of the Red Cross has been killed in an explosion that targeted his car in the capital Mogadishu, the organisation said Thursday.
The SITE intelligence group reported that Somalia’s Shabaab Islamists claimed Wednesday’s attack.
“The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is devastated by the loss of one of its staff, Abdulhafid Yusuf Ibrahim, in Mogadishu,” the ICRC said in a statement.
“He passed away Wednesday night after succumbing to injuries from an improvised explosive device, which detonated while Mr. Ibrahim was in his private car leaving the ICRC office in the Somali capital,” it further said.
The organisation added that Abdulhafid, who is survived by a wife and two young daughters, had been working for the ICRC for five months.
The Al Qaeda-linked Shabaab identified him as an employee of the Somali parliament, according to SITE.
The Shabaab is fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu, seeking to impose austere Islamic rule on the country.
Shabaab still launches regular attacks against government, military, civilian and foreign targets, including international organisations like the UN.
