MOGADISHU, June 18 (Reuters) - Somali Security Minister Omar Hashi Aden was killed in a suicide bomb attack on Thursday, the president of the Horn of Africa nation said.

"I am sending condolences to the family of the Security Minister Omar Hashi who was killed in an explosion in Baladwayne," President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told reporters.

The president blamed hardline Islamist insurgent group al Shabaab for the attack in the central town. (Reporting by Ibrahim Mohamed, Editing by David Clarke) (Email: nairobi.newsroom@reuters.com; tel: +254 20 2224717)

AlertNet news is provided by