Mogadishu, April 20 (IANS): At least seven people were killed in an attack on a UN vehicle in Garowe, the capital of Puntland in northeastern Somalia, on Monday.
Four UN Children's Fund (Unicef) staff members were among the dead and four other staff members were in serious condition, the agency said in a statement.
Abdiwali Hirsi, Puntland's information minister, told Al Jazeera that two other victims were Somali security guards. The seventh victim was yet to be identified.
Unicef said the attack occurred when the vehicle was going from a guest house to the UN agency's office in Garowe.
The victims were an integral part of Unicef's work in Somalia, "dedicated to improving the lives of others", the statement said.
Al-Shabab military operations spokesman Abulaziz Abu Mus'ab said his group was behind the attack.
"We carried out the attack in Garowe. We targeted our enemy the UN. We killed and injured many in the attack," he said.
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, Nicholas Kay, condemned the attack via Twitter.
"I condemn the attack this morning on UN in Garowe. Shocked and appalled by loss of lives," he tweeted.