Highlights:
- Saturday 8th August 2015 Somali security forces arrested four people suspected of being members of Somali-based Islamist terror outfit.
- The four were arrested after a fifth suspect detonated his suicide belt in his home.
- The 17-year-old Mustaf Ali Afrah detonated his suicide belt that was rigged with IEDs
Summary:
17-year-old Mustaf Ali Afrah accidentally detonated a suicide belt rigged with explosive at home purportedly as he was getting ready to go bomb elsewhere in Mogadishu. The suicide belt is identical to the once used in the recent attacks on the government, peacekeepers and civilians.
Following the accidental blast, 4 other suspected were arrested among them, the victim’s wife, the owner of the house and a motorbike driver who was supposed to drive the victim to the detonation position.
The Al-Qaeda affiliated al- Shabaab militants have been weakened both militarily and logistics. The pressure exerted on them by the Africa Union forces has caused most of the experienced and trained fighter to retreat. This has resulted to the use of young and amateur recruits who end up blowing themselves up or failing to execute the plans
The recent injection of financial aid from the United States is also a contributing factor to the now running militants.
