Somali female lawmaker among scores killed by suicide bomber

By OMAR FARUK
Associated Press

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Police in Somalia say that a prominent female lawmaker is among at least 48 people killed in a suicide bombing at a polling station in rural central Somalia. The attack took place late Wednesday in the town of Beledweyne, the capital of Somalia’s Hiran region. Among its victims was opposition lawmaker Amina Mohamed Abdi, an outspoken government critic who was campaigning to retain her seat in the national assembly. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, which came hours after gunmen with the Islamic extremist group had tried to force their way into the international airport in the capital, Mogadishu.