Suicide bomb blast in Somalia kills at least 13 people

Several people have been reported killed in a suicide bomb blast in Mogadishu on May 18th, according to Al Jazeera.

The attacker is thought to be a member of Al Shabaab, a Salafi Jihadist militant group based in Somalia. The bomber was disguised as a civilian, detonating explosives near a line of recruits standing outside the Damanyo army recruitment base.

Al Shabab, linked to Al-Qaeda, has repeatedly attacked Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, rippling a wave of unrest for over 10 years. The extremist group frequently targets official government and military locations in the name of imposing strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Abdulkadir Hassan Mohamed, a tuk-tuk driver who witnessed the explosion, told AP: “There was a loud explosion, and immediately people began running in all directions. Bodies were everywhere”.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

A soldier identifying himself as Hussein, a member of the base’s guard unit, told AP: “The explosion was devastating. I saw many casualties. The attacker disguised himself as a recruit before blowing himself up”. He claimed that five of the casualties were civilian passers-by of the scene.

Saalim Hur, another witness of the blast, said: “I was in a minibus. We were about a few hundred metres (yards) away from the scene when the explosion occurred.”

“The whole area has become rubble, with stones and sand flying,” he said.

Several abandoned shoes and the remains of the suicide bomber were visible at the scene. Medics from the military hospital told Reuters they had treated 30 people from the attack, with 6 of them killed instantly.

The government have since restricted access to the area.

This attack follows a similar one in 2023 when a suicide bomber was responsible for the death of 25 soldiers at the Jale Siyad base, which is near the Damanyo centre.

On May 17th, the assassination of Colonel Abdirahmaan Hujaale, commander of Battalion 26, spread suspicion of the involvement of Al Shabab, locally reported to have infiltrated the government and security forces.

AP/Al Jazeera/Reuters