A Turkish aid worker was killed in an attack in Somalia on Thursday, with the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabab militant group claiming responsibility.

The attack occurred on the outskirts of Mogadishu as vehicles carrying Turkish and Somali aid workers and their security guards were en route to deliver food aid to a camp for displaced persons.

Witnesses and police said a roadside explosion hit one of the vehicles, killing two people: a Turkish worker and a Somali colleague.

The Verenel Association, a Turkish aid agency responsible for delivering food, confirmed in a post on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) that its Somali representative, Abdurrahim Yörük, was killed in the attack.

“brother [Abdurrahim Yörük] Killed in a bomb attack that occurred at 11:30 on April 4, 2024, targeting a team of our association Verenel, which works within the scope of humanitarian aid activities in Somalia,” the post said.

Somali police spokesman Major Abdifata Aden Hassan condemned the attack and said it targeted aid workers delivering food to poor people fasting during Ramadan.

“Targeting landmines on unarmed people who come to the aid of Somalis shows the brutality of the Khawarij [militants]”, Hassan told reporters in Mogadishu. “Khawarij” means “turning away from Islam,” a term sometimes used by Somali government officials to describe al-Shabab.

Turkey has been Somalia’s main partner since then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Somalia in 2011 during a period of severe famine. Since then, Türkiye has been providing humanitarian aid and budget support to Somalia.

Al-Shabaab, which opposes Turkey’s support for Somalia’s government, has launched numerous attacks that have claimed the lives of Turkish nationals working civilian jobs in Somalia.

In an al-Shabaab attack on December 28, 2019, a truck bomb killed at least 80 people, including two Turkish engineers working on a road construction project.

The attacks have not hampered relations between Türkiye and Somalia. In February this year, Somalia and Turkey announced the signing of the Defense and Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, which caused widespread celebration in Somalia.

Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre said that under the agreement, Turkey will build, train and equip the Somali navy, describing Turkey as a “true and reliable brother”.

Last month, the two countries signed an oil and gas exploration agreement, further strengthening cooperation, officials from both countries said.

In a statement, Al-Shabaab rejected the defense and economic cooperation agreement, calling it “illegal.”