Netherlands – Dutch-Somali journalist Abdullahi Jama was among the dozens of people killed in a weekend terrorist attack in Mogadishu, Somalia. His death was announced by the National Union of Somali Journalists. The death of a person with Dutch citizenship was confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response to questions by both NOS and ANP.
Saturday’s twin car bombing took place near Somalia’s Ministry of Education. The building is located near a crowded marketplace. At least 100 people were killed, and 300 others were injured, said President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud a day later, according to AFP. Al-Shabab reportedly took credit for the attack. The organization is allied with al-Qaeda, and is at odds with the Somali government, according to the BBC.
“Mourning the loss of our brother, friend & former colleague Abdullahi Jama in the terror attacks that rocked our capital city. Regrettably, Jama who lived in the Netherlands for [years], is among the innocent compatriots whose bodies disappeared in the blast,” the journalism association said.
The car bombs did not go off simultaneously. After the first detonated, first responders and journalists rushed to the area when the second bomb went off. Another journalist, Mohammed Isse Koonaa, was killed in the attack, and two others were injured. They are Reuters photographer Feisal Omar and Voice of America reporter Abdukadir Mohamed Abdulle.
NOS reported that Jama spent time in both the Netherlands and Sweden, and has alos lived in the United Kingdom. The broadcaster said he was visiting his sick mother in Somalia at the time of the attack.
“Our people have been massacred, including mothers carrying their children in their arms, fathers with medical problems, students studying here and businessmen doing their best to support their families,” Mohamud said.
