McCain's Folly
Jim Kouri, CPP
September 19, 2006
The transitional president of Somalia, Abdullahi Yusuf , survived an assassination attempt on Monday when a car suicide-bomb exploded as he left Somalia's parliament.
There were, however, eight other people, including his brother and several security guards, who were killed by the bomb blast in Baidoa, the nation's provisional capital.
The LA Times reported that the attack has been described as an "Al-Qaeda-type attempt." But So far, no group has claimed responsibility. But US officials believe the attack was orchestrated by the Islamic Courts Union which is suspected of ties to Osama bin Laden.
The Islamic Courts Union is a group of Muslim leaders banded together in a self-appointed court system with Sheik Sharif Sheikh Ahmen claiming overall leadership. Currently they are in control of Mogadishu, the Somali capital, and Jowar, an airport town to the north.
It possesses a the changed with Hassan Dahir Aweys became its new leader. The violence perpetrated by Aweys and his militia has neighboring Ethiopia, which has placed it's own troops on the border of Somalia. Earlier the summer, some Ethiopian troops entered preemptively and fought some of the Islamists in surrounding villages.
Somali authorities said Monday evening that they had recovered the remains of a person they believe might have been the suicide driver.
Abdul Fatah Ibrahim Rasheed, a member of Parliament told reporters, "We hear about this type of thing in Iraq, but not Somalia."
The blast comes at a time when the government is attempting to negotiate a power-sharing agreement with the Islamic Courts Union. The ICU took control of Mogadishu early 2006. Some officials in Baidoa accused the union of participating in the attack, according to AP.
"It will jeopardize the peace process if it becomes very obvious that the Islamists are behind this terrorist act," Foreign Minister Ismail Hurre Buba Hurre said.
Mukhtar Robow Ali, the deputy security chief for the courts union claims,"We know nothing about it, but we are very sorry for anything that hurts the security of Somalia."
Both sides are due to meet again in Khartoum, Sudan, a country also embroiled in Islamist violence, next month to continue peace negotiations.
US intelligence and European security agencies believe that the Islamic Courts Union is an offshoot of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
There were, however, eight other people, including his brother and several security guards, who were killed by the bomb blast in Baidoa, the nation's provisional capital.
The LA Times reported that the attack has been described as an "Al-Qaeda-type attempt." But So far, no group has claimed responsibility. But US officials believe the attack was orchestrated by the Islamic Courts Union which is suspected of ties to Osama bin Laden.
The Islamic Courts Union is a group of Muslim leaders banded together in a self-appointed court system with Sheik Sharif Sheikh Ahmen claiming overall leadership. Currently they are in control of Mogadishu, the Somali capital, and Jowar, an airport town to the north.
It possesses a the changed with Hassan Dahir Aweys became its new leader. The violence perpetrated by Aweys and his militia has neighboring Ethiopia, which has placed it's own troops on the border of Somalia. Earlier the summer, some Ethiopian troops entered preemptively and fought some of the Islamists in surrounding villages.
Somali authorities said Monday evening that they had recovered the remains of a person they believe might have been the suicide driver.
Abdul Fatah Ibrahim Rasheed, a member of Parliament told reporters, "We hear about this type of thing in Iraq, but not Somalia."
The blast comes at a time when the government is attempting to negotiate a power-sharing agreement with the Islamic Courts Union. The ICU took control of Mogadishu early 2006. Some officials in Baidoa accused the union of participating in the attack, according to AP.
"It will jeopardize the peace process if it becomes very obvious that the Islamists are behind this terrorist act," Foreign Minister Ismail Hurre Buba Hurre said.
Mukhtar Robow Ali, the deputy security chief for the courts union claims,"We know nothing about it, but we are very sorry for anything that hurts the security of Somalia."
Both sides are due to meet again in Khartoum, Sudan, a country also embroiled in Islamist violence, next month to continue peace negotiations.
US intelligence and European security agencies believe that the Islamic Courts Union is an offshoot of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
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