Islamic extremists attack Somali family

Islamic extremists attack Somali family

AFGOI, Somalia — Islamic extremists in Somalia identified as Al Shabaab rebels shot and killed a Christian woman and her son while seriously wounding her husband in February.

The family was asleep in their home in Afgoi about 19 miles west of Mogadishu when at least four armed men attacked them at dawn. The assailants killed 35-year-old Faduma Osman, a Christian, and the couple’s 11-year-old son, Ahmed Suleiman.

Osman’s husband, Suleiman Abdiwahab, who is recovering from gunshot wounds to the chest, said the gunmen broke down the door and randomly shot at everyone. He also said they were shouting the jihadist slogan, “Allah Akbar” or “God is greater,” and, “We cannot allow the defiling of our religion with a foreign, Western religion.”

The couple’s two daughters, ages 13 and 7, and 9-year-old son were able to escape out a back door and have found safe shelter in another town, sources said.

Al Shabaab, which has been battling government forces for more than 10 years, has taken control of farming areas surrounding Afgoi, sources said. Since January the rebels have briefly taken over the city three times with Somali government forces driving them out each time.

Somalia is second only to North Korea on Open Doors’ 2017 World Watch List of countries where it is most dangerous to be a Christian. (MS)