Mohamed, a cameraman for Kalsan TV, was killed when a suicide bomber drove a car containing explosives into a restaurant in the south central Somali town of Baidoa, according to reports. The restaurant was routinely frequented by local officials and journalists, according to news reports and local journalists.
Another journalist, freelance reporter Abdulkadir Ahmed, was among the 15 killed in the attack. Three other journalists were wounded.
In a radio message aired on the Al-Shabaab-run Radio Andalus, the militant group’s spokesman, Abdiaziz Abu Mus’ab, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was targeting Ethiopians, spies, and officials, local journalists said. Somali journalists are often referred to as spies by the militia group, which has links to Al-Qaeda and has fought for control of Somalia since 2006.
Isaq, 25, had covered events in the town for several years and covered the government military takeover from the Al-Shabaab insurgents, local journalists said.