Attacks in Somalia's Capital Prompt Intelligence, Army Shake-Up

(Bloomberg) -- Somalia’s president named a new head of national intelligence and army commander, saying the appointments would help the country deal with an al-Qaeda-linked insurgency that stages frequent attacks in the capital.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed’s changes, which were announced Thursday on state radio, included the reappointment of Abdullahi Mohamed Samboloshe as intelligence chief and the naming of Tabit Abdi as Mogadishu’s mayor. Ahmed Mohamed Jimale, who’d previously commanded Somalia’s army, was reappointed to the post.

Militant group al-Shabaab has waged an insurgency in the Horn of Africa nation since 2006 in a bid to impose its version of Islamic law. It claimed responsibility for an explosion at a tea shop in Mogadishu on Wednesday that killed at least seven people.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mohamed Sheikh Nor in Mogadishu at msheikhnor@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn, Karl Maier