A Somali minister survived an assassination attempt Sunday when a hand-grenade was thrown at his car in the capital, Mogadishu.
Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan Noah, Minister of Youth and Sport, told VOA that the explosive device hit his car as he was shopping at a local market in Maka al-Mukaramah, the capital’s busy main street.
“When I got off from the car, a bomb hit and damaged the car, everybody got shocked and ran away from the scene," the minister said.
“A family friend who was travelling with me was hurt, but I was unhurt,” he added.
The minister said his body-guards were not wounded. Somalia's security minister said in a tweet two civilians were wounded in the attack.
So far, no group has claimed the responsibility for the attack, but the minister said the terrorist group al-Shabaab is behind this attack. Al-Shabaab has carried out several attacks on Somali government officials.
On June, Somalia’s State Minister for Environment Buri Mohamed Hamza at more than one dozen other people were killed when the militants stormed a hotel in the capital.
Sunday's attack came hours after Somali officials have released new poll dates for the 2016 elections.
In a statement, Omar Mohamed Abdulle, chairman of election commission said that the country’s presidential election will take place on October 30.
