Mogadishu mayor dies of wounds following Al-Shabaab attack

Mogadishu Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman, third from left, during a ceremony in 2018

Mogadishu, Somalia (CNN)Abdirahman Omar Osman, the mayor of Somalia's capital Mogadishu, succumbed to wounds sustained in a suicide bombing in the city, the government said on Thursday.

Osman died at a hospital in Qatar where he had been undergoing treatment since July 25 following the bomb attack on a government building in the city.

More than 10 people including district commissioners and other regional officials were killed in the blast.

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo declared three days of mourning and ordered the country's flag to be flown at half-staff in honor of Osman, the presidency said in a statement.

Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire also sent condolences in a Twitter post on Thursday.

The mayor was Somali-British and had been in office since early last year. He had previously held several posts in the current and former Somali governments, including minister of information.

Al-Shabaab, an al Qaeda-affiliated terror group, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it aimed for the UN envoy for Somalia, James Swan, who visited the office and met with the mayor and other district commissioners on the day of the bombing.

Al-Shabaab has launched many deadly attacks in Somalia targeting public places, including hotels and an airport.

Nearly 20 people died when a bomb went off near Mogadishu's international airport in July. Gunmen also laid siege on a hotel in Kismayo in Somali's Jubaland killing 26 people in the same month.

Prominent journalist and Youtube star, Hodan Nalayeh and her husband and other top government officials were among those who died in the Kismayo attack.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for both attacks. CNN has not been able to independently confirm these claims.

By Omar Nor, CNN >>