Somali Mohammad Shibin guilty over Quest hijacking

A US jury has convicted a Somali man of piracy for serving as a hostage negotiator during the hijacking of an American yacht.

Mohammad Saaili Shibin was found guilty of piracy, kidnapping and hostage-taking over the 2011 hijacking of the SV Quest, near Oman.
Prosecutors said he received at least $30,000 (£18,475) for negotiating ransom payments.
The incident saw all four Americans on board shot and killed.
Shibin was arrested by the FBI and military officials in Somalia in April 2011.

Somalia MPs killed in al-Shabab suicide attack, sevral injured

Seven people, including two MPs, have been killed in a suicide attack in central Somalia, authorities in the town of Dusa Mareb have said.

Eyewitnesses told the BBC the attack targeted a group of about 20 politicians at an outdoor cafe.
They had travelled to Dusa Mareb in Galgadud region - which is controlled by a pro-government militia - to promote reconciliation.

Somalia's al-Shabab Islamists move north into Puntland

Al-Shabab militants have moved north to semi-autonomous Puntland after being pushed out of central Somalia, Puntland President Abdirahman Farole says.

They are there to strengthen ties with al-Qaeda in Yemen, which lies a short distance across the sea, he told the BBC.

Al-Shabab, hardline Islamists, merged with al-Qaeda in February.

They are under pressure on a number of military fronts in the south of Somalia - but still mount frequent attacks.

The leader of Puntland says al-Shabab fighters and commanders have been arriving over the past few days.

Security threat

The president says they are gathering in Puntland's Galgala mountains and the Golis range that borders the self-declared republic of Somaliland.

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Somalia market bombing kills 12

At least 12 people have been killed and more than 30 badly injured by a bombing in the central Somali town of Baidoa.
The governor of the Bay region, Abdifitah Mohamed Gesey, told the BBC that most of the casualties were women and children. Mr Gesey said the bomb was planted in a small basket and hidden in a busy market in the centre of town. It is the worst attack in Baidoa since Ethiopian troops took control from the Islamist group, al-Shabab, in February. Witnesses said the bomb went off shortly after Somali government troops had arrived in the market.
"This was a disaster," Adan Hassan, a witness told the AFP news agency. "I saw [the] bodies of at least nine civilians, most of them women. The explosion occurred as people were shopping."
A spokesman for al-Shabab's military operations said it was behind for the blast. "We targeted the Ethiopian and the Somali troops. About three of them died," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told the Reuters news agency. In February al-Shabab merged with al-Qaeda, and still controls much of the south of the country. Peacekeepers It is the second bomb attack in Somalia in less than a week. On Wednesday, eight people were killed in a suicide attack on the national theatre in the capital, Mogadishu.
Last week, African Union peacekeepers for the first time deployed to Baidoa, which is on a strategically important route. Baidoa, which is 250km (155 miles) north-west of Mogadishu, had been one of the most important al-Shabab bases. The town had, until they took control three years ago, been the seat of Somalia's transitional government. Al-Shabab said it had withdrawn its forces as part of a "tactical retreat" and threatened to start a guerrilla war in response.
SOURCE: BBC AFRICA