Saturday, two vehicle bombs exploded at a prominent intersection in Somalia’s capital, close to key government facilities, resulting in “dozens” of civilian casualties, including children, according to national police. A medical employee tallied at least 30 dead amid fears that there could be many more.
On the day of the attack in Mogadishu, the president, prime minister, and other senior officials were gathering to discuss expanding measures to combat violent extremism, especially by the al Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabab group, which frequently threatens the capital. Additionally, it occurred five years after another big explosion in the same place killed over 500 individuals.
A reporter for the Associated Press who was on the site reported that the second explosion occurred in front of a packed restaurant at lunchtime. The explosions destroyed tuk-tuks and other cars in a restaurant and hotel district. He reported seeing “several” dead that seemed to be people riding public transportation.
No immediate claim of responsibility was made. Al-Shabab rarely claims responsibility for large-scale civilian casualty assaults, such as the 2017 explosion. However, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud specifically criticized al-Shabab, describing the attack as “brutal and cowardly.”
Hassan Osman, a volunteer at the hospital in Medina, stated: “The majority of the at least 30 deceased individuals brought to the hospital are female. I have personally witnessed this.”
At the hospital and elsewhere, distraught relatives peered under plastic sheets and into corpse bags in search of family members.
The Aamin ambulance service reported collecting at least 35 wounded individuals. The second explosion wrecked an ambulance responding to the first attack, director Abdulkadir Adan tweeted.
“I was 100 meters distant when the second explosion occurred,” stated a witness. Due to the (number of) deaths, I was unable to count the bodies on the ground. According to him, the first explosion struck the perimeter wall of the ministry of education, where street sellers and money changers were stationed.
Citing colleagues and police, the Somali Journalists Syndicate reported that one journalist was murdered and two others were injured by the second explosion while heading to the scene of the first.
The incident took place near Zobe intersection, the site of a 2017 al-Shabab vehicle explosion that killed more than 500 people.
The Somalian government has launched a high-profile offensive against an extremist group that the United States has identified as one of al Qaeda’s most lethal outfits. The president has called it a “total battle” against the extremists, who control significant portions of central and southern Somalia and have been the focus of numerous U.S. bombings over the past several years. Extremists retaliated by assassinating significant clan chiefs, ostensibly to discourage support for this government offensive.
On Oct. 22, U.S. forces conducted an airstrike against al-Shabab militants who were attacking Somali National Army soldiers in the vicinity of Buulobarde, which is approximately 220 kilometers from Mogadishu. In the attack, two al-Shabab terrorists were killed.
Since May, when President Biden authorized the Pentagon’s request to bring soldiers back to the war-torn country, fewer than 500 U.S. forces have been stationed in Somalia, reversing a decision made by former President Donald Trump in January 2021 to withdraw a larger group of 750 troops. After assuming office, Trump initially increased bombing in the region, but in December 2020 he ordered a military withdrawal.
Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre stated on Saturday that the attack will not deter the public revolt against al-Shabab, and both he and the president reaffirmed the government’s resolve to eradicate the extremist group.