A suicide bomber who died in the jihadist terror attack Tuesday in Somalia that killed 13 people, used to be a member of the country’s parliament.
Salah Nuh Ismail, 53, was a member of the Somali Parliament from 2004 to 2010. The former legislator left office in 2010 after going missing for a few days and then declaring that he was joining the terrorist jihadist group Al-Shabab.
Al-Shabab has ties to Al-Qaeda and wants to install a Somali government that rules according to Islamic law, known as Shariah law. Ismail, also known as Salah Badbado, called his former parliamentary colleagues “infidels” before joining the terrorist group.
The terrorists likely decided to launch their attack now because the current government’s power comes to an end in August and Somalia will hold elections. Badbado’s suicide car bomb went off in front of the gates of an African Union (AU) base. African Union soldiers come from throughout Africa and 22,000 operate in the Somali capital of Mogadishu as part of a peacekeeping mission.
Besides affecting the AU base, the Al-Shabab terror attack was close to Somalia’s main international airport in Mogadishu. The part of the city attacked by the terrorists is in the Mogadishu “green zone,” deemed to be the safest part of town and home to many embassies.
Al-Shabab released audio through its radio station allegedly of the ex-MP, where he says, “This suicide task we are going to is for the sake of Allah and it is a religious duty. We have chosen to please Allah and to harm the infidels more than they have harmed the Muslim nation.”
The terrorists claimed that they were pleased with his attack despite having previously been in government because according to them, “he repented from the apostasy.”
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