| Why would the big regional jihadi powerhouse bother murdering a harmless old lag? |
Hashi Omar Hassan died on Wednesday in Dharkaynley district, southern Mogadishu after unknown individuals attached the IED to his vehicle, abruptly ejecting him from the gene pool. No group is yet to take responsibility but al-Shabaab
...... Somalia's version of the Taliban...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
hard boyz are known to activate such attacks.
He was released from an Italian prison 18 years after his conviction following the 1994 death of two renowned journalists. The court had sentenced him after finding "sufficient evidence" on his hand in the death of Ilaria Alpi and Miran Hrovatin.
Throughout his time in prison, he insisted on his innocence, leading to his surprise release by Italian authorities. His trial was one of the most followed court episodes internationally, with Hashi often accusing prosecutors of bias in their unprecedented findings.
Before his release from prison, prosecutor Dario Razzi told the court Hassan "did not commit" the crime he served 16 years in jail for. He was the only person convicted of the murders. "If it is true that Hassan was convicted, we must also have the courage to admit that he may be innocent," Razzi said.
The al-Shabaab hard boyz in Somalia usually target security forces, government officials, and innocent civilians. In most cases, they kill those who don't support their ideologies or those believed to be spies of the military forces within the Horn of Africa nation.
Although the group is yet to take responsibility, such murders are associated with it for the last 15 years. The former prisoner has reportedly been living a quiet life in the capital Mogadishu until he met his unprecedented death on Wednesday.
Currently, the government has heightened the war against al-Shabaab with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud saying he's keen to ensure the hard boyz are defeated. On Tuesday, he hinted at future negotiations between the government and the krazed killers.