Al-Shabab attack kills at least 12 people in Somali city

By OMAR FARUK
Associated Press

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Officials and witnesses say at least 12 people are dead after two explosions by extremist fighters targeted a local government headquarters in the capital of Somalia’s Hiran region, which has been the center of a recent mobilization against the rebels. The Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack in Beledweyne, about 300 kilometers north of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. The Hiran governor survived the attack and told The Associated Press by phone that the health minister of Hirshabelle state and the deputy governor of Hiran in charge of finance were among those killed on Monday.