Update | Chinese embassy security official killed in bomb attack in Somalia
Thirteen people killed when suicide bomber rams explosives-rigged truck into blast walls around Mogadishu hotel
A Chinese security official at the country’s embassy in Somalia was one of 13 people killed when a suicide bomber rammed a truck rigged with explosives into the blast walls around one of Mogadishu’s most secure hotels on the weekend.
The attack on the Jazeera Palace Hotel on Sunday, claimed by an al-Qaeda-linked group, wounded at least another 20 people.
The embassy was based inside the hotel and partially damaged in the blast, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement.
A People’s Armed Police officer in charge of security was in the embassy when the attack took place, the statement said. He sustained severe injuries and died after he was taken to hospital. Three other members of staff had minor injuries, and the rest were evacuated from the hotel.
It is the first fatal attack on a Chinese diplomatic mission since the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade by US jets in 1999.
The foreign ministry said China was deeply shocked by Sunday’s attack and strongly condemned it.
The embassy reopened late last year after closing in 1991 amid Somalia’s civil war. The ministry said it would step up security and work closely with the Somali authorities to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals in the country.