At least 100 people were killed and 300 sustained injuries after twin car bombings rocked Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, on Saturday. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud blamed the terrorist group Al-Shabaab for orchestrating the attacks.
According to Reuters, two car bombs exploded near the education ministry compound next to a busy intersection. It marked the deadliest attack in the country since the 2017 truck bombing that killed 500 people at the exact location.
The first bomb exploded around 2 p.m. local time, and the second blast occurred shortly after rescue services arrived, greatly increasing the death toll. President Mohamud said the death toll could rise, as rescue efforts are ongoing.
Blaming Al-Shabaab for the bombings, he declared that Somalia is at war with the terrorist groups and “we are winning.”
Death toll climbs to 100, over 300 hurt in the nasty bombings at Sobe junction, says president @HassanSMohamud, adding the fatalities likely to rise. "We will defeat and we already defeated this radical group," the Head of State said after visiting the site of the terror attack. pic.twitter.com/VcobTx3CgR
— SONNA (@SONNALIVE) October 30, 2022
“Our people who were massacred […] included mothers with their children in their arms, fathers who had medical conditions, students who were sent to study, businessmen who were struggling with the lives of their families,” Mohamud said after visiting the site of the blasts. “We ask our international partners and Muslims around the world to send their medical doctors here since we can’t send all the victims outside the country for treatment,” he implored.
Hours after his speech, Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying they had achieved their aim of attacking the education ministry. Calling the ministry an “enemy base,” the group said it targeted the ministry because it wanted to win the “war on minds” launched by the Sonali government. It accused the ministry of teaching Somali children using a “Christian-based syllabus.”
Al-Shabaab has in recent months increased attacks on security forces and civilians across the country, killing over 170 people since March.
In May, the group carried out an attack against an African Union military base in Southern Somalia in May, killing 30 Burundian peacekeepers.
Similarly, in July, the group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in the Lower Shabelle region that killed 20 people, including the mayor of a town.
Then, in August, Al-Shabaab militants stormed the Hayat hotel in Mogadishu and opened fire on civilians and tourists, killing 21 and injuring 117.
We stand with Somalia in the wake of yesterday’s terrorist attacks in Mogadishu. Our thoughts are with those injured, and we extend our condolences to the families of the deceased. We reaffirm our support for Somalia and know freedom and security will prevail over terrorism.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) October 30, 2022
United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan denounced the “terrorist attack” and the “heinous targeting” of the education ministry and first responders. “We send our deepest condolences to the Somali people and to all those who lost loved ones or were injured by these unconscionable attacks against innocent civilians.” He also noted that the US remains committed to supporting Somalia’s fight against terrorism.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, too, strongly condemned the attack and reiterated that the UN “stands in solidarity with Somalia against violent extremism.”
Al Shabaab, or ‘the youth’, is an al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamist group formed in the early 2000s to establish an Islamic state in Somalia. The group has carried out deadly attacks, including suicide bombings, in Somalia, Kenya, and Uganda, killing more than 4,000 civilians over the last ten years.