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             Al-Shabab Claims Responsibility for Somali Plane Bomb

   by VOA News

   Somali militant group Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the bomb
   blast aimed at bringing down a Somali airliner earlier this month.

   The group said in a statement Saturday that it carried out the attack
   as "retribution for the crimes committed by the coalition of Western
   crusaders and their intelligence agencies against Muslims of Somalia."

   Al-Shabab said the explosion targeted Western and Turkish intelligence
   officials aboard Daallo Airlines Flight A321 to Djibouti on February 2.

   The mid-air blast blew a meter-wide hole in the aircraft, carrying 74
   passengers, and forced the pilot to make an emergency landing 15
   minutes after take-off from Mogadishu airport.

   The suspected suicide bomber, Abdullahi Abdisalam Borleh, was a
   passenger and was blown out of the plane.

   Security video footage taken at Mogadishu airport showed two men
   handing what looked like a laptop computer to Borleh after he passed
   through a security checkpoint.

   Authorities believe the laptop-like device was the bomb that caused the
   explosion.

   At least 15 people have been arrested in connection to the attack.

   VOA's Somali Service contributed to this report.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/al-shabab-claims-responsibility-for-s
   omali-plane-bomb/3189784.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/al-shabab-claims-responsibility-for-somali-plane-bomb/3189784.html