Four Somali soccer players have been killed in a suspected attack. Who could be behind it is still completely unclear.
Four Somali soccer players have been killed in an explosion on their way to a game. This is reported by several eyewitnesses and the police. “The players were traveling on a bus when the explosion occurred, presumably inside the vehicle. The investigation is ongoing but we believe the explosive device was planted on the bus,” said police officer Mohamed Sadiq.
Five other players from the Jubaland Chamber of Commerce and Industry club were injured, the police officer said. The team was on their way to a game at the stadium in the city of Kismayo in southern Somalia when the explosion occurred.
So far, no extremist group has claimed responsibility for the explosion in Kismayo, the capital of the southern state of Jubaland, which borders Kenya. Jubaland became the first state to hold Somalia’s long-postponed national elections this week, which were set to be disrupted by the al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group al-Shabaab. The extremists have been fighting to overthrow the central government since 2007, often targeting government, security and civilian targets.