Bombings in Mogadishu

Since 2008, there have been several Mogadishu bombings. Some of these have clearly been part of the Somali Civil War while the relationship between other bombings and the war remains unclear.

2008

Main article: 2008 Mogadishu bombings

The 2008 Mogadishu bombings occurred on August 3, 2008. A roadside bombing killed 21 women who were cleaning rubbish from a southern Mogadishu street on Sunday morning, a hospital official said. Mogadishu residents gathered around victims of the bomb attack along the city's Maka Al Mukarama Road. The bomb blast wounded another 46 people, most of them Somali women who had gathered to clean Maka Al Mukarama Road in southern Mogadishu's Kilometer 4 district, according to Medina Hospital director Dr. Dahir Dhere.

It is unclear who was behind the attack. Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed Omar Habeb Dhere, who was recently fired by the country's prime minister, blamed the Islamic Courts Union for waging the attack. But the head of the Islamist insurgent group, Abid Rahim Ise Adow, denied any involvement and blamed Somalia's government for orchestrating the attack. The victims were participating in a program that allows Somali women to work as street cleaners in exchange for food. The United Nations' World Food Program organized the program, which began last year and is administered by Mogadishu's regional authority.

2009

African Union base

Main article: 2009 African Union base bombings in Mogadishu

Two large-scale attacks against AMISOM soldiers carried out by al-Shabaab suicide bombers in Mogadishu, Somalia occurred in 2009. One occurred in February while the other occurred in September.

On February 22, 2009, an attack was carried out by Al-Shabaab against the base of the African Union Mission to Somalia in Mogadishu. The attack, carried out by a suicide bomber in a car and one on foot, left 11 Burundian soldiers dead and 15 others seriously hurt.^[1] The car bomber was a Somali contractor who had easy access to the base.^[2] The Burundian troops, part of the 3,400 strong AU force in Somalia, were unloading supplies when they were hit by the blast.^[3]

On September 17, 2009, twin suicide bombings ripped through the headquarters of AMISOM in Mogadishu, killing 17 soldiers in the deadliest such attack against the mission. The bombers were able to enter the base using two stolen white UN cars and struck a meeting between the peacekeepers and the transitional government.^[4][5] Brigadier General Juvenal Niyoyunguruza of Burundi, the deputy head of AMISOM, was killed in the blast, while the mission's Ugandan commander, General Nathan Mugisha, was wounded.^[6] Of the dead peacekeepers, 12 were Burundian and five were Ugandan.^[6] Four Somali civilians also died in the attacks, which wounded 40 people.^[7] Shelling by both insurgents and AMISOM after the bombings killed 19 Somali civilians.^[6]

Hotel Shamo

Main article: 2009 Hotel Shamo bombing

The 2009 Hotel Shamo bombing was a suicide bombing at the Hotel Shamo on 3 December 2009. The bombing killed 25 people, including three ministers of the Transitional Federal Government,^[8] and injured 60 more,^[9] making it the deadliest attack in Somalia since the Beledweyne bombing on 18 June 2009 that claimed more than 30 lives.^[10]

The attack took place inside the meeting hall of the Hotel Shamo in Mogadishu during a commencement ceremony for medical students of Benadir University and was carried out by a suicide bomber dressed as a woman, "complete with a veil and a female's shoes", according to Minister of Information Dahir Mohamud Gelle.^[11] According to witnesses, the bomber approached a speakers' panel, verbally greeted them with the phrase "peace", and detonated his explosives belt.^[12] Former Minister of Health Osman Dufle, who was speaking when the blast happened, reported that he had noticed an individual wearing black clothing moving through the audience immediately before the explosion.^[5]

The ceremony—the second since Benadir University was formed in 2002 and a rare event in war-torn Somalia—had attracted hundreds of people.^[11] In attendance were the graduates and their family members, University officials,^[13] and five ministers of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).^[11] Security inside the meeting hall was light and all of the ministers' bodyguards were outside the hall.^[11]

2010

Main article: May 2010 Mogadishu bombings

The May 2010 Mogadishu bombings were an attack at a mosque near the Bakara market on 1 May 2010. The bombs killed at least 39^[14] people and injured around 70 others.^[15]

The bombings occurred around 1 pm local time (10 am UTC).^[5] The bombs were placed at opposite ends of the ground floor of the Abdala Shideye Mosque as people were awaiting the Dhuhr midday prayers.^[16] It is believed that Fuad Mohamed Qalaf, an upper-level official within al-Shabaab, was the intended target of the attacks.^[17] Qalaf was reported to have suffered only minor injuries to his hands.^[18]

The attack was the deadliest in Mogadishu since the Hotel Shambo bombing in December 2009.^[19] Information Minister Dahir Mohamud Gelle said it was the first such attack in a mosque in Somalia.^[20]

Ambassador Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra, representing the African Union, said "Indiscriminate attacks on public places like today's incident cannot be condoned. I, on behalf of the African Union, would like to call upon all warring parties in the Somali Conflict to stop such barbaric attacks on innocent civilian population."^[5] While al-Shabaab has accused private Western security firms, no group has claimed any kind of responsibility for the bombings.^[20]

2011

Main article: 2011 Mogadishu bombing

A truck carrying explosive was driven into a government ministry and was subsequently detonated. The attack comes after the militant group Al-Shabaab withdrew its troops from Mogadishu. The attacks killed 70 and injured more than 42 people.^[21]

References

1. ^ "Bombs kill Somalia peacekeepers". BBC News. 2009-02-22. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7904613.stm. Retrieved 2010-04-23. 
2. ^ "African Union to increase troops in Somalia despite deadly suicide attack". 3 News. 24 February 2009. http://www.3news.co.nz/News/InternationalNews/African-Union-to-increase-troops-in-Somalia-despite-deadly-suicide-attack/tabid/417/articleID/92516/cat/61/Default.aspx. Retrieved 21 September 2011. 
3. ^ Deaths in Mogadishu AU camp attack - Africa. Al Jazeera English (2009-02-22). Retrieved on 2010-09-09.
4. ^ "Somali gov't condemns twin suicide attacks in Mogadishu". Archived from the original on 2009-09-26. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/18/content_12075998.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-18. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d} "Blast kills 19 at graduation ceremony in Somalia". CNN. 3 December 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/12/03/somalia.attacks/index.html?eref=onion. Retrieved 4 December 2009. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} "21 Killed in Suicide Bomb Attacks on AU Forces in Mogadishu". Archived from the original on 2009-09-26. http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-09-18-voa26.cfm. Retrieved 2009-09-18. 
7. ^ 21 killed in suicide attack on African Union base in Somalia
8. ^ "4th minister dies of wounds". The Straits Times. 6 December 2009. http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Sport/Story/STIStory_463152.html. Retrieved 6 December 2009. 
9. ^ "Somalia al-Shabab Islamists deny causing deadly bomb". BBC News. 4 December 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8394528.stm. Retrieved 4 December 2009. 
10. ^ Guled, Abdi, and Ibrahim Mohamed (4 December 2009). "Bomber kills 19 in Somalia". National Post. http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id=2301825. Retrieved 4 December 2009. 
11. ^ ^{a b c d} "Somalia ministers killed by hotel suicide bomb". BBC News. 3 December 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8392468.stm. Retrieved 4 December 2009. 
12. ^ McCrummen, Stephanie (4 December 2009). "Bombing kills 19 in Somali capital". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/03/AR2009120300544.html?hpid=sec-world. Retrieved 4 December 2009. 
13. ^ "Govt ministers killed in Somalia blast". RTÉ News and Current Affairs. 3 December 2009. http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1203/somalia.html. Retrieved 4 December 2009. 
14. ^ "Scores dead after blasts rip through Somalian mosque". The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Ontario: CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc). 1 May 2010. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/scores-dead-after-blasts-rip-through-somalian-mosque/article1553599/. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 
15. ^ "Somali blasts kill at least 30 at 'militants mosque'". BBC News. 1 May 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8655912.stm. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 
16. ^ Hamsa, Omar (1 May 2010). "Somali Mosque Explosions Kill at Least 28 People in Mogadishu". Bloomberg.com (Bloomberg L.P.). http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aD8C_vv4frRI. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 
17. ^ Henry, Robin (1 May 2010). "Thirty dead in Somalia mosque bombings". The Times (London, UK: News Corporation). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article7113832.ece. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 
18. ^ Guled, Abdi; Mohamed Ahmed (1 May 2010). "Blasts at Somali mosque kill 32-al Shabaab". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/01/AR2010050101549.html. Retrieved 1 May 2010. ^{[dead link]}
19. ^ Abdinur, Mustafa Haji (1 May 2010). "Twenty-five killed in Mogadishu blasts: officials". AFP. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5il2DUSIJHPPx8f1pAmjF26DJ13Iw. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 
20. ^ ^{a b} Raghavan, Sudarsan (1 May 2010). "Two bombs kill at least 30 at mosque in Somali capital". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/01/AR2010050102042.html. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 
21. ^ "Huge Somalia suicide car bomb kills dozens in capital". BBC. 4/10/2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15166107?OCID=fbwin. Retrieved October 04, 2011.