Slain soldier's remains returned to Shandong

Zhang Nan's family members and relatives attend his funeral in Jinan, Shandong province, on Aug 2, 2015. Zhang Wei / for China Daily

Large crowd pays final respects to Chinese man killed in Somalia attack

Nearly 1,000 people in Jinan, Shandong province, paid their respects on Sunday morning to the Chinese embassy guard killed in the Somalia bomb attack a week earlier.

Zhang Nan, 28, who had been in the Chinese military for 11 years, died in the July 26 terrorist attack near the Chinese embassy in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, where he served as a security officer. Fifteen people, some with other countries' embassies, were killed in the attack.

The coffin carrying Zhang's remains was returned to Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport by China Southern Airlines on Saturday night, with another two wounded guards from Somalia. Zhang's funeral was held at the Jinan Funeral Home by the Shandong Armed Policy Corps, where he started his military career.

President Xi Jinping sent condolences via his office to Zhang's family and his injured colleagues right after the incident. At the funeral, wreaths from high-level officials, including Fan Changlong and Xu Qiliang, vice-chairmen of China's Central Military Commission, the top military body in the country, surrounded Zhang, whose body lay in state in the middle of the lobby.

Somalian Ambassador to China Yusuf Hassan Ibrahim stood in silent tribute for three minutes at Zhang's funeral.

Zhang Nan, shown training in 2010, was a security officer at the Chinese embassy in Somalia. He was killed during a suicide attack at the Jazeera Palace Hotel on July 26. Lu Yaqi / Xinhua

On July 31, the Chinese Armed Police Force posthumously conferred on Zhang the Loyal Guard award - one of the highest honors given to ordinary soldiers in the force since 1998.

Jiang Yikang, Party secretary of Shandong province, said at the funeral that Zhang was "an excellent role model who dedicated his life to security services and the construction of elite divisions".