A powerful explosion rocked a military base in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, on Wednesday, followed by intense gunfire, according to eyewitness accounts. The al Qaeda-affiliated militant group, al Shabaab, has claimed responsibility, describing the incident as a suicide bomb attack.
The blast occurred at the Jale Siyad military base, though details regarding casualties remain unclear. “We heard a sudden blast, then gunfire inside the base as we drove past it. We could only see a huge cloud of smoke,” said Ahmed Nur, a local bus driver who spoke to Reuters.
This is not the first attack on the Jale Siyad base. In 2023, a suicide bombing at the same facility killed 25 soldiers. More recently in May, another suicide attacker targeted young recruits at the nearby Damanyo military base, killing at least 10 people.
Al Shabaab stated that the bomber specifically targeted Western military trainers within the base and claimed there were casualties, though it did not provide further details. Reuters has not independently verified the group’s claims.
Somalia’s Defence Minister, Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, has yet to issue an official response.
The attack comes amid a period of renewed violence in Somalia, where al Shabaab has maintained a deadly insurgency since 2007. Despite recent territorial losses, the group continues to mount deadly assaults across the country.
Meanwhile, the future of international peacekeeping in Somalia remains uncertain. A new African Union mission recently replaced a larger contingent, but its continued operation is in question, especially as the United States resists shifting to a United Nations-backed funding model.
