Wheelchair-bound man suspected of suicide bombing Somali plane

The explosion that punctured the fuselage of a plane in the Somali capital may have been caused by a passenger in a wheelchair.

Hole in Somali plane. Photo: AP

Investigators suspect the man deliberately used a wheelchair to bypass strict security checks at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport. He is suspected of detonating a bomb that damaged the fuselage but did not bring down the Daallo Airlines plane, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"An individual in a wheelchair is suspected to be the suicide bomber," a Western diplomat told reporters yesterday of the investigation.

The force of the explosion sent the suicide bomber flying out of the plane's cabin. His body fell near the Bal'ad district, 10 km from the capital.Mogadishuabout 30 km. The Airbus A321 scheduled to fly to Djibouti was forced to make an emergency landing, just minutes after taking off from Aden Abdulle International Airport.

Video: Somali plane makes emergency landing

Somali officials said the passenger who fell from the plane was identified as Abdullahi Abdisalam Borleh, 55, from Somaliland, but they would not confirm whether he was the suicide bomber. The crew and 74 other passengers on board all survived, although two were injured. Daallo Airlines' CEO said they found explosive residue on the plane, but could not confirm 100% that the plane was bombed.

Investigators suspect al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked militant group that emerged in Somalia in 2006, was behind the attack. Al-Shabab has stepped up efforts in recent months to regain control of lost territory in Somalia, while seeking to overthrow the Western-backed government.

Location of the incident. Graphics: AP

According to VNE