Somali MP was one of the suicide bombers who killed 13 people near Mogadishu peacekeeping HQ 

  • Jihadi Salah Badbado served with Somalia's parliament from 2004 to 2010
  • He joined al-Qaeda group after announcing he was leaving politics behind 
  • Badbado, 53, was one of two bombers who killed 13 people near a UN base
  • Car bombs driven by the terrorists exploded, killing mainly security staff  

By GARETH DAVIES FOR MAILONLINE

Published: | Updated:

A former Somali MP who joined al-Shabab group in 2010 was one of two suicide bombers who killed 13 people near a United Nations and African Union base, the militants announced Wednesday.

Car bombs driven by suicide attackers exploded on Tuesday morning near Mogadishu's airport, one of which went off 200 metres from the base, killing mainly security staff.

Salah Badbado, 53, served in Somalia's parliament from 2004 until 2010, when he declared at a press conference he was leaving politics to join the Somali al-Qaeda affiliate.

Somali soldiers secure a damaged perimeter wall following twin car bombings near Mogadishu's airport which left 13 dead

Somali soldiers secure a damaged perimeter wall following twin car bombings near Mogadishu's airport which left 13 dead

A Somali soldier patrols near the site of a car bomb outside the UN's office in Mogadishu, Somalia, where 13 people were killed in a suicide bombing

A Somali soldier patrols near the site of a car bomb outside the UN's office in Mogadishu, Somalia, where 13 people were killed in a suicide bombing

United Nations office guards carry the dead body of their colleague, who was killed in a suicide car bomb

United Nations office guards carry the dead body of their colleague, who was killed in a suicide car bomb

'Salah Nuh Ismail known as Salah Badbado was among the braves who have carried out the attack on Halane military base,' the group said in statement released on the Telegram app and their Andalus radio station.

'He was a former lawmaker but he has repented from the apostasy in the year 2010 when he publicly announced defecting from the apostates,' the Shabaab statement said.

The attack was condemned by the African Union and the United Nations, which said that none of its personnel were among the confirmed dead.

Car bombs driven by suicide attackers exploded on Tuesday morning near Mogadishu's airport, one of which went off 200 metres from the base, killing mainly security staff 

Car bombs driven by suicide attackers exploded on Tuesday morning near Mogadishu's airport, one of which went off 200 metres from the base, killing mainly security staff 

The terror group's radio station released an audio message purportedly recorded a few hours before the former MP carried out the attack, in which he is heard announcing an imminent suicide strike.

'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 former MP said in the audio message.

Somali security officials were yet to confirm the bomber's identity early on Wednesday.

Unlike previous attacks by the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab, gunmen did not accompany the suicide bomber, said police Capt. Mohamed Hussein. 

The first suicide bomber tried to speed through the barrier at the U.N. office but guards shot at the car, he said. 

The guards were from a private security firm, said a police official, who insisted on anonymity because he isn't authorized to speak to the press.

The deputy spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, Farhan Haq, told reporters that if the guards had not stopped the car from entering the U.N. premises, there 'would have been considerably more damage and loss of life.'

Salah Badbado, 53, has been named as one of the two bombers and served in Somalia's parliament from 2004 until 2010, when he declared at a press conference he was leaving politics to join the Somali al-Qaeda affiliate 

Salah Badbado, 53, has been named as one of the two bombers and served in Somalia's parliament from 2004 until 2010, when he declared at a press conference he was leaving politics to join the Somali al-Qaeda affiliate 

United Nations soldiers stand in front of the destroyed gate outside the UN's office in Mogadishu, Somalia,

United Nations soldiers stand in front of the destroyed gate outside the UN's office in Mogadishu, Somalia,

Al-Shabaab is attempting to take down Somalia's UN-backed government with the goal of establishing an Islamic emirate ruled by a strict form of Islam.

More than 22,000 peacekeepers serve in the multi-nation African Union force and al-Shabab opposes the presence of foreign troops in Somalia.

Although al-Shabab was ousted from Mogadishu in 2011, it continues to wage a deadly guerrilla campaign.

'Al-Shabab is desperately seeking relevance and will do anything to keep in the news headlines,' the AU Special Representative for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Caetano Madeira, said in a statement.

The terror group is blamed for a string of bloody assaults in Somalia and neighbouring Kenya, and is fighting to overthrow Mogadishu's internationally-backed government.

Its fighters were forced out of the capital five years ago but continue to carry out regular attacks on military, government and civilian targets.

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