Al-Qaeda Tries to Assassinate American Envoy James Swan in Somalia

By: - July 26, 2019

Al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda’s branch in Somalia, attempted to assassinate Special Envoy James Swan in a recent suicide bombing in Mogadishu.

According to reports, a female bomber blew herself up in the office of Mogadishu Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman during a security meeting with several high-ranking officials.

Several attendees were wounded. Some seriously, including Osman himself who remains unconscious. according to local reports.

Hours before the blast, James Swan, the UN special representative for Somalia and an American diplomat, met with the mayor and his district commissioners in the building but left after his meeting, police and the UN confirmed.

“I deplore this heinous attack which not only demonstrates a violent disregard for the sanctity of human life, but also targets Somalis working to improve the lives of their fellow Somalis in the Mogadishu-Banadir region,” Swan said in a statement. “The United Nations stands with the people and government of Somalia in their rejection of such terrorist acts, and our thoughts are with the victims of this attack.”

In a brief statement released on its Shahada News Telegram channel, Shabaab made it clear that the bombing was an assassination attempt on Swan.

“The U.N. Special Envoy James Swan, an American, survived an assassination attempt and many government officials were killed and wounded, including Mogadishu’s mayor, after targeting them in an explosion,” Shabaab’s statement said.

Wednesday’s attack follows another a few days earlier during which a bomb went off near Mogadishu’s international airport, killing seventeen people. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for that attack as well.

The recent attack highlights both the ongoing struggle in Somalia to get militant groups under control, and the close American involvement in the country. Shabaab going after James Swan was not a coincidence. The al-Qaeda-aligned group knows full well that it is primarily the United States that is preventing them from overrunning the country to create a virtual terror state.

  • RSS WND

    • Students arrested, suspended at rowdy protest over anti-Israel ballot initiative
      (FOX NEWS) – Some Vanderbilt University students protesting the administration's removal of an anti-Israel, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) initiative from the student ballot have been suspended and arrested following an hours-long sit-in on Tuesday, according to reports. An amendment to the Vanderbilt Student Government Constitution, which would prevent student government funds from going to… […]
    • In reversal, Israel sending delegation to White House after 'Bibi made a mistake'
      (ZEROHEDGE) – Israel's military has stepped up its airstrikes on the southern Gaza city Rafah in the last two days, on Wednesday bombing at least four homes, raising fears that the planned ground assault is imminent, despite the UN Security Council having just issued an official call for immediate ceasefire. Gaza health officials said that… […]
    • Pentagon in early talks to finance Gaza peacekeeping force
      Micaela Burrow Daily Caller News Foundation The Pentagon is in early talks to fund a peacekeeping force in war-ravaged Gaza after conflict between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group ends, Politico reported, citing two Defense Department officials and two other U.S. officials. Options on the table do not involve placing U.S. troops on the ground… […]
    • Economic impact of plumber shortage should concern everyone
      (AMERICAN GREATNESS) – Ed Bigley, the business manager for the Pittsburgh Plumbers Union Local 27, says the organization has been serving the region since the dawn of the industrial revolution in the 1870s, when it came under the umbrella of the Knights of Labor. “It was a career that propelled generations of young people into… […]
    • Old Soldiers' Home will be used to house migrant families
      (AMERICAN MILITARY NEWS) – With the state’s shelter system bursting with migrant families, the Healey administration announced today that they will open a new overflow site in Chelsea at the Old Soldiers’ Home and introduce a range of work search and permit application requirements for those housed at “state safety-net sites.” Effective May 1, according… […]
    • City passes resolution creating 'transgender sanctuary'
      Kate Anderson Daily Caller News Foundation The Sacramento City Council voted to approve a resolution Tuesday that bars any “city resources” from being used to stop transgender individuals from receiving sex-change medical procedures. The resolution bars city employees from using “staff time” and “resources” to stop individuals from getting transgender medical procedures and also from… […]
    • Trump could pull off the greatest political comeback in American history
      (ISSUES AND INSIGHTS) – Having secured sufficient delegates to become the first thrice-nominated Republican presidential candidate since Richard Nixon and the only person to bear the GOP standard in three consecutive elections, Donald Trump moves closer to completing the greatest political comeback in American history. A Trump triumph in November would far surpass any previous… […]
    • Dems quietly telling Biden to churn out regulations at breakneck speed as election looms
      Arjun Singh Daily Caller News Foundation Democrats in Congress are encouraging the Biden administration to quickly enact a slew of far-reaching regulations ahead of the 2024 presidential election, according to Punchbowl News. The Biden administration has pursued an aggressive regulatory agenda to implement President Joe Biden’s political priorities, including measures to encourage the production of… […]
    • The impact of terrorism around the world
      (ZEROHEDGE) – According to the Global Terrorism Index 2024, a report by the Institute for Economics and Peace measuring the impact of terrorism around the world, deaths from terrorism rose to 8,352 globally in 2023, marking a 22 percent increase from the previous year. However, as Statista's Felix Richter notes, that increase came despite a… […]
    • Over 20% of the world's oil refining capacity at risk of closure
      (OIL PRICE) – More than 20% of the total global refining capacity is at some risk of closure as refining margins are set to weaken alongside demand, while carbon taxes could also burden many refiners, Wood Mackenzie has said in a recent report. Overall, based on expected net cash margins in 2030, Wood Mackenzie has… […]
  • Enter My WorldView