More than 1,000 people attended a ceremony on Tuesday tnoring the life and service of Zhang Nan, a security officer who was killed during a suicide attack on the Chinese embassy in Somalia in July.

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Somalia-based terror group Al-Shabaab is responsible for the suicide bombing at the Jazeera Palace Hotel in Mogadishu on July 26, which killed 15 people, including the 28-year-old Zhang.

Attendees of the ceremony included members of China's Armed Police Force, the Foreign Ministry, and members of Zhang's family. The ceremony was held in Zhang's hometown of Jinan, which is in east China's Shandong Province.

Zhang had been buried in August in Jinan, when he posthumously received a badge of "loyal guard" from the Armed Police Force (APF).

Zhang served in the APF for 11 years, and served in a detachment in Shandong's Linyi City before he was sent to be a security officer at the Chinese embassy in Somalia in 2014. The Chinese embassy in Somalia is based within a six-storey luxury hotel that also contains the consulates of Egypt, Kenya and Qatar.

Zhang chose to stay at his post as guard at the embassy, despite having already been shot during another terrorist attack in April, and despite having been told by superiors that he could return home for recovery.

At the age of 18, Zhang, who was born in China's northern Hebei province in 1986, joined China's armed police, where he started out as military working dog handler. Friends and family say that Zhang was known for his strong work ethic and integrity. He  eventually worked his way up to become a sniper and anti-terror expert.

TagsZhang Nan, security officer Zhang Nan, killed during a suicide attack on the Chinese embassy, Somalia-based terror group Al-Shabaab, China’s Armed Police Force, the Jazeera Palace Hotel in Mogadishu