MOGADISHU, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- At least four people including a regional government minister were killed and several others wounded in twin suicide bomb blasts in Beledweyne town, the provincial capital of Hiran region on Monday, a local official confirmed.
Ali Jeyte Osman, the governor of Hiran region, said HirShabelle State minister Zakariye Mohamed Ahmed was among those killed in the blasts.
Jeyte said the attackers targeted local officials at Lamagalay base which is HirShabelle regional administration quarters in Beledweyne town.
Plumes of black smoke could be seen billowing from the blast area in an attack which al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for. Jeyte told the Somali National News Agency that increased terror attacks by al-Shabab will not derail efforts to stabilize Somalia.
"Al-Shabab's brutal acts will never weaken public uprising," he said and warned al-Shabab's militants that their days were numbered.
Analysts said the latest attack could be the retaliation for the killing of senior al-Shabab leader Abdullahi Nadir by government and international partner forces on Saturday during an operation in the Middle Juba region.
The government forces have conducted several operations in Beledweyne in recent days against the al-Shabab terror group, liberating more than 40 villages and killing over 200 militants.
The United Nations in Somalia has condemned the suicide attacks and extended its condolences to the victims' families, and called for those responsible to face justice. ■
