Puntland regional state minister for Environment and agriculture Ismail Gamadiid has died in a hospital in Mogadishu.

The minister was battling COVID-19 in a hospital in Mogadishu for weeks.

The death of the cabinet was confirmed by close relatives and Puntland state officials.

He contacted the virus in Puntland but was later on transferred in a hospital in Mogadishu.

We have lost the minister of environment and agriculture Ismail Gamadiid may his soul rest in peace," read a Facebook statement from the Puntland statehouse.