MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – A suicide bomber struck a crowd of army recruits outside Damaanyo military academy in Somalia’s capital on Sunday, killing at least 20 people and wounding many more, in one of the deadliest attacks in Mogadishu in recent months, Caasimada Online news website reported.
The explosion ripped through a queue of young men waiting to enlist in the army, sending flames and debris across a busy thoroughfare near the heavily fortified facility in the capital’s Hodan district. CCTV footage from the scene captured the moment of detonation, showing a fireball erupting among the crowd, with nearby vehicles potentially caught in the blast.
Security sources said the attacker managed to penetrate an area ringed by multiple checkpoints, including the high-security Jaalle Siyad checkpoint, which guards access to several military compounds. It remains unclear how the bomber evaded security in one of Mogadishu’s most closely monitored zones.
Emergency responders rushed the wounded to Erdogan Hospital, the city’s main trauma facility, as army trucks and ambulances ferried casualties from the scene.
The al-Qaeda-linked militant group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack through its affiliated media channels, saying it had killed over 30 “soldiers” and injured more than 50. The Somali federal government has yet to release an official casualty count and has not commented on the group’s claims.
The bombing comes after a relative lull in suicide attacks in the capital and follows renewed fighting in central Somalia’s Hiran region, where a senior army commander, Abdirahman Hujale, was shot dead on Saturday. A prominent leader of a pro-government militia was also reportedly killed in clashes on Sunday.
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