Bomb attack on Somali military training base kills dozens
MOGADISHU, Somalia – There are fears that dozens of recruits and their trainers will be killed, a senior police officer told Garowe Online, following a bombing of a military training school in Somalia in what could be a fatal suicide incident in recent weeks, targeting security forces.
Captain Abdi Barre, who serves in the Somali police force, confirmed that a suicide bomber blew himself up in the military camp named after General Abdikarim Yusuf Dhagabadan, which hosts thousands of recruits and their trainers.
Some reports indicate that dozens of recruits may have died in the deadly incident, a number that could exceed the most recent deadly raids by militants targeting security forces in the Horn of Africa country. The injured have since been rushed to various hospitals in Mogadishu.
The rescue mission was still underway at the site, Captain Barre said, adding that military officers were among the teams leading the mission. Police have since taken control outside the bombing scene, the senior officer added.
Named after General Abdikarim Yusuf Dhagabadan, a former army commander who led the offensive that forced Al-Shabab to withdraw from Mogadishu in August 2011, the military training center is used to equip the forces special forces of various Somali military forces.
The famous military general was killed in Al-Shabaab’s raid on the Sahafi hotel in November 2015. His efforts to combat militants linked to Al-Qaida led to the military camp being given his name, and he has remained since one of the most popular military bases in the country.
While no group has yet to take responsibility for Tuesday’s deadly raid, Al-Shabaab militants are known to unleash such attacks, targeting security forces. Earlier this year, Al-Shabaab confessed to using a suicide bomber to attempt to attack a Turkish-run military base in Somalia.
The attack comes as the Somali National Army [SNA] is conducting a series of operations in the country under the command of the Chief of the Defense Forces, General Odowaa Yusuf Rageh. So far, state media confirmed, more than 200 activists have been killed in the past three weeks.
Moreover, the attack comes just a week after President Joe Biden confirmed that hundreds of American troops will be deployed in Kenya in the fight against Al-Shabaab. The soldiers have been withdrawn from Somalia as a cost saving measure as reported in the Ministry of Defense.
The attack on the military base is still in development, Axadlewill continue to update including the exact number of casualties and injuries.
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