Who was Somali suicide bomber Luul Dahir?

[waryaa]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32796851

She was, by almost all accounts, a rather wonderful woman - smart, helpful, and engaging - and a familiar presence behind the old-fashioned wooden reception counter in the Central Hotel's spacious lobby in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

"We made a really good connection. She was very attentive, and was doing her job very well. One government minister I knew was ready to offer her a job," said a European official who sometimes stayed at the hotel in order to meet the many Somali politicians who had made it their home. He asked for his name not to be used for security reasons.

"She was a nice person, really talented," confirmed the hotel manager and co-owner, Ahmed Ismail Hussein, of Luul Dahir, the Somali woman in her mid-30s whom he had hired four months earlier.

'She exploded here'

"She had six young children, and everyone was sympathetic and supportive. But after all, to me she was not a nice person. She was a horrible person when you consider what she did," he said.

On 20 February, a car bomb was driven inside the hotel's heavily guarded courtyard during Friday prayers.

Car bombs have become a common sight in the streets of Mogadishu

Dozens of men, including ministers and a deputy prime minister, were praying in the hotel mosque.

Somehow, the mosque wall managed to absorb most of the blast, and for minutes afterwards, dazed survivors wandered around the courtyard.

This was the moment Luul Dahir chose to make her move.

The manager had noticed earlier that morning that she seemed tired, and tearful - and had asked her if she wanted to take a day or two off.

"She was looking down - I told her: 'Please, take leave.' She was not willing to go," he said.

Underneath her black chador she had strapped a belt packed with explosives.

"She exploded here, this black spot. She was looking for the deputy prime minister, asking: 'Where is my uncle?' He was not really her uncle but she wanted to make sure he dies," said Mr Hussein, showing me around the scarred courtyard.

Others remember hearing her scream - trying, they thought subsequently, to attract a crowd around her.

Mr Hussein suspects there might have been a scuffle - that the minister's bodyguards even fired shots at Ms Dahir.

But she managed to detonate her bomb.

"I believe not less than 40 people were killed here", said Mr Hussein. Official figures suggest about half that number.

'Shortcut to paradise'Al-Shabab militants have stepped up their attacks in Somalia in recent years

The al-Qaeda-linked Somali militant group, al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack. More details about Luul Dahir soon emerged.

She had recently returned from Holland, where she had lived since childhood as a member of Somalia's huge diaspora.

She had applied for jobs at a number of prominent hotels in Mogadishu. In her letter to the Jazzier Palace hotel, she had described herself as:

"A dynamic professional who strives for excellence in all assigned tasks. I have good customer service skills. I consistently approach work with energy. I am a team player."

Her hobbies included "reading new novels" and "learning new things." Her application was rejected.

Ms Dahir's late husband, named as Abdi Salan, had been involved in another al-Shabab suicide attack, one year earlier, on Mogadishu's heavily guarded government compound, Villa Somalia.

Somehow, none of this had come to light before the attack. Indeed, it is alleged that several senior security officials had befriended Ms Dahir at the hotel.

More... http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32796851

[SultanOrder]

I think some of these people are blackmailed.

[waryaa]

I think so too. How can a mother with six children kill herself like that?

[SiennaEarth]

The father is dead, the mother is dead, who's looking after the kids now? Such a selfish mother to leave her children without parents.

[LobsterUnit]

The corrupt politicians probably thought they could marry her.

[SimplySerene]

I think some of these people are blackmailed.

I honestly believe there are a lot stories out there like this. You just don't hear it enough. People always need to ask the question, what would push someone to commit such an attack? I think many have reached their breaking point. Maybe they lost their mind, maybe their being black mailed, maybe their being brainwashed. it could be for many reasons. Maybe reasons we can't comprehend because we don't live their lives.


The world can be jacked up!

[QaxootiWaaxid]

Wow like a movie