GAROWE, Somalia (Reuters) - Gunmen posing as fishermen killed Dubai government-owned P&O Ports’ operations in Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland on Monday in an attack claimed by Islamist militant group Al Shabaab.

Yusuf Mohamed, governor of Puntland’s Bari region, told Reuters that two men disguised as fishermen had shot Paul Anthony Formosa as he was going to Bossaso port this morning.

He was killed “in the fish market as he was going to Bossaso port this morning. The men armed with pistols hit him (with) several bullets in the head,” Mohamed said.

One of the attackers was shot dead by security forces at the scene and the other detained, he said. Formosa’s LinkedIn account states his nationality as Maltese.

P&O Ports said an employee had died and three others injured in an “incident” at Bossaso Port, without giving further details. The company was cooperating with the Puntland authorities in its investigation, it said in a statement published on Twitter by Dubai’s government media office.

Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack and accused Formosa of being in Somalia “illegally”. The group is fighting to topple Somalia’s Western-backed central government and install its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islam’s sharia law.

“We are behind the operation ... we had warned him but he turned deaf ear. He was illegally in Somalia,” said spokesman for Al Shabaab’s military operations, Abdiasis Abu Musab.

P&O Ports has run Puntland’s Bossaso port since winning a 30-year concession in 2017 to expand and manage the facility. </s> A Maltese port manager has been shot dead in Somalia's northern semi-autonomous Puntland state, officials say.

Paul Anthony Formosa, who was the construction project manager for DP World, was killed inside Bossasso port.

Islamist militant group al-Shabab has said it carried out the attack.

Puntland, an arid region of north-east Somalia, declared itself an autonomous state in 1998, in part to avoid the clan warfare in southern Somalia.

The state is a destination for many Somalis displaced by violence in the south.

Mr Formosa was manager at Bossasso port for P&O Ports, a subsidiary of the Dubai-based DP World.

The attacker was killed on the spot, Mohamed Dahir, a local security official, told AFP news agency. </s> Islamic militants in Somalia have shot dead a senior manager running the port of Bossaso in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, and a car bomb has killed at least 11 in Mogadishu.

The assassination of Paul Anthony Formosa, a Maltese citizen who worked for the Dubai government-owned P&O Ports, has been claimed by the extremist group al-Shabaab extremist group.

The killing will be a setback to attempts to attract investment to the unstable, poverty-hit and violent country, and will highlight the continuing threat from the insurgents.

Hours after the shooting in Bossaso, at least 11 people died in a car bomb explosion in the capital.

Capt Mohamed Hussein, a police official, said at least nine people were also injured in the blast on Monday near a mall close to Mogadishu’s local government offices, in the city’s Hamar Weyne district.

Mohamed Hussein Aliye, a 31-year-old shopkeeper, was serving customers when the car exploded.

“It was a normal day for us. I saw the man who parked his car. He was thin and young. After 20 minutes it exploded. I was pushed to the wall. I thought I was dead. Smoke and dark dust shut my sight,” he said.

The attacks came three weeks after a deadly assault by the group on a luxury hotel complex in Nairobi, in neighbouring Kenya.

The US embassy on Monday issued a warning to its citizens about an ongoing threat from Islamic extremists in the east African country.

Yusuf Mohamed, the governor of Puntland’s Bari region, told Reuters news agency that two men disguised as fishermen had shot Formosa as he was going to the port.

He was killed “in the fish market as he was going to Bossaso port this morning. The men armed with pistols hit him [with] several bullets in the head,” Mohamed said.

P&O Ports said an employee had died and three others were injured in an “incident”, without giving further details. The company was cooperating with the Puntland authorities in its investigation, it said in a statement published on Twitter by Dubai’s government media office.

The company paid $336m (£260m) in 2017 for the contract to extend and manage the Bossaso port. The deal was unpopular with some local residents, however, and there were protests.

In a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, al-Shabaab accused the victim of being in Somalia illegally.

Al-Shabaab released a statement through Radio Andalus taking credit for the assassination. The group said it previously issued warnings that the Dubai-based company was “illegally taking Somali natural resources”.

Omar Yasin, a 43-year-old fisherman, was in the market to sell his fish when the shooting took place.

“They were two young men,” Yasin said. “They were in the market since 6am this morning… . One man approached him [Formosa] and shot five times. I saw Formosa heavily bleeding and lying on the ground.

“Soon there was gunfire exchange between the attackers and the security guard. One attacker was shot dead but the other one escaped.”

Al-Shabaab, which is an official affiliate of al-Qaida, has been waging a war for more than a decade to overthrow Somalia’s western-backed central government and install its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islam’s sharia law.

The organisation is present primarily in rural areas in the south and centre of Somalia, and the north has been considered relatively safe. Middle Eastern powers, Turkey and other countries have engaged in fierce competition for strategic sites and investment on the Somalia coast in recent years.

The US has stepped up airstrikes against al-Shabaab in Somalia since Donald Trump took office, carrying out at least 47 strikes last year. Some have targeted top leaders or key financial officials. Al-Shabaab funds its operations through an extensive network of “taxation” and extortion.

Last year, more than 300 militants were killed in airstrikes launched by US forces. A further attack – the 10th this year – killed 13 al-Shabaab militants, US officials said.

A statement by the US army’s Africa Command said the airstrike targeted al-Shabaab fighters in the vicinity of Gandarshe, Lower Shabelle region, within the war-torn country.

Al-Shabaab has previously used Gandarshe, 30 miles south-west of Mogadishu, as a staging area for attacks including vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices that threaten the capital and its residents, a statement said.

On 15-16 December, six US airstrikes killed 62 al-Shabaab militants near Gandarshe, who were preparing for an attack on a Somali government military base in the region, and a US airstrike killed 24 militants in neighbouring Hiran region on 30 January.

In October, the US said an airstrike killed about 60 fighters near the al-Shabaab-controlled community of Harardhere in Mudug province in central Somalia.

Research by the Mogadishu-based Hiiraan Institute suggests, however, that the organisation has largely adapted to the new threat and that the use of air power alone is likely to be insufficient to defeat the group, which has been fighting to impose an extreme version of Islamic law on Somalia for more than a decade.

Civilian casualties blamed on the US have been a factor in al-Shabaab recruitment.

Experts said one possible motive for the Nairobi attack was to send a strong message that the organisation was still active and capable of long-range terrorist operations, despite a series of US airstrikes that have inflicted heavy casualties.

Al-Shabaab, which is an affiliate of al-Qaida, was responsible for an bloody assault on a mall in the Kenyan capital in 2013. The group has also conducted a series of assaults on military installations in the unstable east African country, though it has sustained significant casualties.

Somalia was recently declared the most corrupt country in the world by Transparency International, the international campaign group. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption Bossasso port is being developed under a 30-year deal

A Maltese port manager has been shot dead in Somalia's northern semi-autonomous Puntland state, officials say.

Paul Anthony Formosa, who was the construction project manager for P&O Ports, was killed near Bossasso port.

Islamist militant group al-Shabab has said it carried out the attack.

Puntland, an arid region of north-east Somalia, declared itself an autonomous state in 1998, in part to avoid the clan warfare in southern Somalia.

The state is a destination for many Somalis displaced by violence in the south.

How was port manager killed?

Mr Formosa was waylaid by gunmen disguised as fishermen as he was heading to the port, news agency Reuters reports.

"[He was killed] in the fish market as he was going to Bossasso port this morning. The men armed with pistols hit him [with] several bullets in the head," Yusuf Mohamed, governor of Puntland's Bari region, told Reuters.

One of the gunmen involved in Monday's attack was caught alive and has been identified as a member of al-Shabab, Mr Mohamed said.

Two guards at the port were also injured in the attack, he said.

Al-Shabab said it carried out the attack, accusing developers of looting Somalia's resources.

It accused Mr Formosa of being in Somalia "illegally".

"We are behind the operation... we had warned him but he turned [a] deaf ear. He was illegally in Somalia," al-Shabab's military operations spokesman, Abdiasis Abu Musab, said.

Why was the port deal controversial?

Dubai-based DP World - one of the world's largest port operators - won a 30-year concession in 2017 worth $336m (£260m) to develop and manage the Bossasso port.

Many residents opposed the deal and staged protests during which at least one person was killed. They said that the deal would increase taxes at the port.

DP World has a similar agreement for Berbera port in the neighbouring region of Somaliland, which has declared independence from Somalia.

The federal Somali government declared the deals null and void, accusing the operator of violating the country's sovereignty. Subsequently, the Somali parliament passed a bill banning DP World from Somalia.

P&O Ports is working in Somalia as a subsidiary of the Dubai-based Port, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC).

What is Somalia's relationship with the Gulf countries?

Somalia has been caught up in the ongoing diplomatic spat between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, its two allies and benefactors.

It has so far taken a neutral stance.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which includes Dubai, and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar on 5 June 2017.

"Somalia has become a chessboard in the power game between Qatar and Turkey on the one side and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their allies on the other," Rashid Abdi, director of the Horn of Africa project at the International Crisis Group, told the BBC.

"There is no doubt that these rivalries are spilling over into Africa. Somalia is especially vulnerable because of its proximity to the Gulf and its long historical relationship with the region," he added.

Corrected on 6/2/19 to clarify that P&O Ports is a subsidiary of PCFC, not DP World. </s> A Maltese port manager has been shot dead in Somalia's northern semi-autonomous Puntland state, officials say.

Paul Anthony Formosa, who was the construction project manager for DP World, was killed inside Bossasso port.

Islamist militant group al-Shabab has said it carried out the attack.

Puntland, an arid region of north-east Somalia, declared itself an autonomous state in 1998, in part to avoid the clan warfare in southern Somalia.

The state is a destination for many Somalis displaced by violence in the south.

Mr Formosa killer was shot dead on the spot, Mohamed Dahir, a local security official, told AFP news agency.
• How the crisis in the Gulf could spread to East Africa

Mr Formosa was manager for P&O Ports, a subsidiary of the Dubai-based DP World, one of the world's largest port operators.

The company won a deal a 30-year concession in 2017 worth $336m (£260m) to develop and manage the Bossasso port.

Many residents opposed the deal and staged protests during which at least one person was killed. They said that the deal would increase taxes at the port.

DP World has a similar accord for Berbera port in the neighbouring region of Somaliland, which has declared independence from Somalia.

The federal Somali government declared the agreements null and void, accusing the operator of violating the country's sovereignty. Subsequently, the Somali parliament passed a bill banning DP World from Somalia. </s> Al-Shabaab terrorist group on Monday claimed responsibility for killing the Maltese director of Dubai government-owned P&O Ports operations in Somalia's Bosaso port.

A local government official in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland confirmed Monday that the director was killed by gunmen.

Yusuf Mohamed, governor of Puntland's Bari region told Reuters that two men disguised as fishermen had shot Paul Anthony Formosa as he was going to Bosaso port this morning.

Al-Shabaab said it had carried out the attack and accused Formosa of being in Somalia illegally. "We are behind the operation ... we had warned him but he turned a deaf ear. He was illegally in Somalia," said spokesman for Al-Shabaab's military operations, Abdiasis Abu Musab.

Meanwhile, a huge blast was heard in the heart of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Monday and clouds of smoke could be seen rising from the scene of the blast, according to a Reuters witness.

It was unclear what caused the explosion. </s> DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Al-Shabab militants shot and killed a Maltese man Monday who worked for a Dubai government-owned port operator in Somalia, authorities said.

The attack on Dubai’s P&O Ports comes as the United Arab Emirates has rapidly expanded its port operations and military presence in Somalia and across East Africa. Al-Shabab said it targeted the man in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region because he worked for a company that “occupies” the area’s Bosaso Port, likely a worrying sign for the Emiratis amid their expansion.

P&O Ports acknowledged one of its employees was killed and three others injured in an “incident” Monday at its operations in Bosaso, 1,100 kilometres (690 miles) northeast of the capital city, Mogadishu, on the Gulf of Aden.

The government-run Dubai Media Office tweeted the information on behalf of P&O Ports, saying an investigation was ongoing. It did not explain the circumstances of the worker’s death, though it said those injured were receiving medical care. P&O Ports did not answer a phone call Monday seeking comment.

Malta’s Foreign Ministry identified the dead man as a Maltese citizen who worked as a construction project manager for P&O Ports. It said he had been “shot dead.” Al-Shabab separately claimed the attack. </s> MOGADISHU: Somalia´s Al-Shabaab militants on Monday shot dead the Maltese manager of a port, while detonating a car bomb in the capital which killed nine people and wounded several

In a deadly day for the restive nation, a gunman shot Maltese national Paul Anthony Formosa, manager of the port of Bossasso in semi-autonomous Puntland state for P&O Ports, a subsidiary of the Dubai-based DP World.

Shortly thereafter a powerful explosion from a car bomb rocked the busy Hamarweyne market in the capital Mogadishu, killing nine people in the latest attack from the Al-Qaeda affiliate plaguing the country.

"An armed man shot and killed Paul Anthony Formosa who was the construction project manager for DP World. He was killed inside the port and the security forces also shot the killer on the spot", local security official, Mohamed Dahir, told AFP.

The Dubai government confirmed the death in a statement on Twitter and said the circumstances of the incident was being investigated. "Three other employees have been injured in this morning´s incident, and all are currently receiving medical treatment," read the statement.

The attack was claimed by Al-Shabaab, which said in a statement it was "part of broader operations targeting the mercenary companies that loot the Somali resources." The DP World subsidiary in 2017 signed a 30-year concession contract for the management and development of the port, strategically located on the Gulf of Aden, between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, more than 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) north of Mogadishu. </s> A gunman Monday killed the manager of the port of Bossasso, in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland state, a local security official said, in an attack claimed by the Islamist Al-Shabaab group.

“An armed man shot and killed Paul Anthony Formosa who was the construction project manager for DP World. He was killed inside the port and the security forces also shot the killer on the spot”, the official, Mohamed Dahir, told AFP.

Formosa, a Maltese national, was manager at Bossasso for P&O Ports, a subsidiary of the Dubai-based DP World. According to his profile on LinkedIn, had been in the position since August 2017.

A witness, Abdukadir Weheliye, said he heard several shots coming from inside the port and then saw the body of a white man being taken away in an ambulance.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the killing in a statement.

“The attack is part of broader operations targeting the mercenary companies that loot the Somali resources”, it said.

The DP World subsidiary had signed a 30-year concession contract for the management and development of the port, strategically located on the Gulf of Aden, between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, more than 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) north of Mogadishu.
A Maltese port manager is killed at a fish market in Puntland by Al-Shabaab militants disguised as fishermen.