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Al-Shabab commander killed in Somalia

12 September 2010 05:01 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A senior al-Shabab commander has been killed during clashes between Somali Transitional Federal Government [TFG] soldiers and fighters of the militant group in Mogadishu, APA reports quoting aljazeera.net web-page.

The Somali-American man, Dahir Gurey Sheikh Ali Guled, was found dead in Mogadishu after the recent weeks of battles between TFG soldiers and militants, Radio Garowe quoted a Somali government statement issued on Saturday as saying.

Meanwhile, Somali Information Minister Abdirahman Omar Osman warned that foreign terrorists have flocked to Somalia in recent months, joining militant forces attempting to turn the Horn of Africa country into an al-Qaeda haven.

"We are very much concerned about the influx of foreign terrorists coming to Somalia. The only way to stop terrorists from coming to Somalia is to have effective institutions which can bring peace and stability to the country. The TFG renews its appeal to the international community to support the TFG and AMISOM [African Union Mission for Somalia] forces with a view to ending the atrocities committed by al-Shabab," he said.

In addition, 25 people were killed on Thursday after a car bomb was detonated at the gate of Mogadishu’s airport, where a high-ranking international delegation was having talks with the leaders of the Transitional Federal Government.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

Various entities calling themselves the Somali national government have struggled for years to restore security, but to no avail.