The Transitional National Government (TNG) of Somalia has set up a national anti-terrorism task force, a press statement issued by the prime minister's office on 30 September said. The aim of the task force is to "design a comprehensive anti-terrorism national policy", said the statement.

The task force is headed by the interior minister, and includes the ministers of defence, justice and religious affairs, and higher education and culture, the attorney general, the Mogadishu police chief, the deputy director of the intelligence agency, and the senior political adviser to the prime minister, said the statement.

The formation of the task force is in response to the events of 11 September in United States, and UN Security Council resolution 1373, a senior official in the prime minister's office told IRIN. The UN resolution calls on all member states to suppress the financing of terrorists and for international cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

The task force is expected to look into "all international treaties and conventions that came into existence in the 10 years [during which] Somalia was absent from the international scene", with a view to ratifying them, said the statement.