The army and eyewitnesses reported that at least seven persons were killed and nine others were hurt in a suicide bombing on Sunday in Mogadishu that was claimed by the Somali Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab.
At the Nacnac military facility in the south of the Somali city, a “desperate terrorist” detonated himself on Sunday morning close to a line of recruits who were enrolling, local military commander Abdullahi Adan told AFP.
He stated, “Seven people were killed and nine others were injured.”
Ahme Gobe, an eyewitness, told AFP, “I was close to the site of the explosion, it was tremendous, and I could see dead and injured people.”
Asha Omar, another witness, reported seeing at least 10 individuals being hauled away in an ambulance.
Al-Shabaab, an extreme Islamist organization associated with Al-Qaeda that has been fighting the Somali government for 15 years, took credit for the attack.
At least 19 civilians were slain by its fighters earlier this month in central Somalia.
In August, the group attacked a prominent hotel in Mogadishu, when a 30-hour siege resulted in 21 fatalities and 117 injuries.
Since his election in May, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has had to deal with a resurgent Al-Shabaab and has vowed to launch an “all-out war” against the rebels.
Mohamud must also deal with an impending famine brought on by the nation in the Horn of Africa’s worst drought in 40 years.
Al-Shabaab was expelled from urban areas of Somalia, including Mogadishu in 2011, but it is still entrenched in substantial portions of the countryside.
In an airstrike in support of Somalia’s regular forces on Wednesday, the US army claimed to have killed 27 Al-Shabaab militiamen.
To combat the militants, President Joe Biden decided in May to reinstate US military presence in Somalia. He did this after the Pentagon requested it because it found his predecessor Donald Trump’s rotation system to be too dangerous and ineffective.
