14 dead after suicide bomber attack in Somalia

[December 03, 2009]  MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- A suicide bomber disguised in women's clothing detonated his explosives during a graduation ceremony at an upscale hotel Thursday, killing at least 14 people, including three Cabinet ministers and two journalists.

The attack raised new questions about the ability of Somalia's weak government to control even the small area of the capital it holds. African troops protecting the government wage near daily battles with Islamic militants who control much of central and southern Somalia.

More than three dozen students had gathered to receive their diplomas at the ceremony at the Shamow Hotel, which sits in the small patch of Mogadishu that is held by Somalia's government.

"What happened today is a national disaster," said Somali Information Minister Dahir Mohamud Gelle, who confirmed that the ministers for education, higher education and health were killed in the blast. The ministers for sports and tourism were wounded.

No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion fell upon the militant group al-Shabab, which has ties to al-Qaida and controls much of the country.

"A man who disguised himself as a woman, complete with a veil and a female's shoes, is behind the explosion," Gelle said. "We even have his picture."

Two journalists also were killed and two wounded. Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television said its Somali cameraman, Hassan Zubeir, died. A second Somali reporter working for a local media outlet also died, said Bashir Khalif, a reporter for the Somali government's radio service.

In total, 14 people died, the Somali information minister said. However, a statement from the African Union's mission in Somalia said 19 people were killed. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear.

Several hundred people had gathered inside a decorated ballroom in the Shamow Hotel to celebrate the graduations of the medical, computer science and engineering students from Benadir University. The school was established in 2002 by a group of Somali doctors who wanted to promote higher education in a country where physicians have become the victims of the seemingly endless violence.

Attendees were sitting on plastic chairs facing a small stage when the explosion went off.

Both the European Union and the African Union condemned the attack.

"Such an inhumane and cowardly act aimed at stalling the peace process will not deter the resolve and determination of the African Union to support the people of Somalia in their quest for peace and reconciliation," said a statement from the African Union.

Somalia has been ravaged by violence and anarchy since warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, then turned on each other. A moderate Islamist was elected president in January in hopes that he could unite the country's feuding factions, but the violence has continued unabated.

In October, insurgents fired mortars at the airport as the president was boarding a plane, sparking battles that killed at least 24 people. Witnesses said mortars also were fired toward the airport around the time the president returned from his trip.

And in September, Islamic insurgents posing as U.N. personnel detonated suicide car bombs in an African Union peacekeeping base, killing 21 people.

Somalia's lawlessness has spread security fears around region and raised concerns that al-Qaida is trying to gain a foothold in the Horn of Africa. The anarchy has also allowed piracy to flourish off the country's coast.

The president of Benadir University said 43 students were taking part in the graduation ceremony Thursday. The university's Web site says the school has more than 500 students and "strives to establish an open system of innovation and critical thinking similar to that in the developed countries."

Of the three ministers killed in the blast, one was a woman -- Qamar Aden Ali, the health minister. Ibrahim Hassan Adow, the minister for higher education, and Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel, the minister for education, also died. There are 37 ministers in Somalia's government, according to a Web site on the Somali government kept by the CIA.

[Associated Press; By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN]

Associated Press writer Malkhadir M. Muhumed in Nairobi, Kenya contributed to this report.

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