One of the two people who blew themselves up in Mogadishu on Tuesday has been identified as Saalah Nuuh Ismael “Saalah-Badbaado”, 57 years old Somalilander who had been a member of Somalia parliament in the years before 2010.
Saalah was the second suicide attacker targeted at Halane Milatary Base adjacent to Mogadishu International Airport where AMISOM peace keepers are based. The other attacker is yet to be identified.
The twin attacks killed at least 13 people in Mogadishu including AMISOM soldiers as well as civilians and wounded many more.
According to a pre-recorded audio message released on Wednesday by Radio Andalu, Saalah left Somalia parliament in 2010 to join al-Shabab after he accused the Government of Somalia of failing to rule the country based on Islamic Sharia Law.
Saalah urged the current MPs of Somalia Federal Government to follow his footsteps and join the “jihad” against what he described as “infidels in Somalia.”
People who knew Saalah-Badbaado told Bandhige that he was born in Burao and spent most of his life in Berbera where he owned a retailer drug store.
If confirmed to be true, Saalah would be the oldest and highest-profile person to blew himself up in Somalia.
Bandhige@gmail.com