At least 15 Somali soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing at a military base in Mogadishu on Tuesday, an official said.
“I have counted about 15 new recruits who have been killed in the explosion,” said Army Officer Mohamed Adan, adding that the charge could be higher.
Adan said the bomber was disguised among recruits queuing outside General Dhegobadan’s military camp when the blast occurred.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, the deadliest in the capital in 18 months.
Soldiers and military installations are common targets of al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group fighting to overthrow the internationally backed government in Mogadishu.
Hotels and security checkpoints are also frequently attacked.
In December 2019, 81 people were killed by a suicide bomber at a checkpoint in the city center, while the latest major attack on a hotel killed 17 earlier this year.
Somalia has been involved in interconnected crises for the past three decades, with repeated attacks of civil war, clan conflict, terrorist attacks, famine and political instability.
Al-Shabab rose to prominence in 2006. Despite the long deployment of African Union peacekeepers, al-Shabab remains a strong force despite losing much of the territory it once controlled.
