Suicide attack at military recruitment centre leaves 11 dead in Somalia

A suicide bombing near a military recruitment centre in Somalia’s capital has left at least 11 people dead and several others injured.

The explosion occurred at the Damaanyo military base in Mogadishu during an enlistment drive for the Somali National Army, Caliber.Az reports per Russian media.

The incident was carried out by a suicide bomber who detonated explosives while standing among a crowd of young men hoping to join the army. Witnesses said the attacker struck during peak recruitment hours, causing chaos and mass casualties. Eyewitnesses further reported that at least two motorized rickshaws transported the wounded to nearby hospitals before emergency services arrived at the site.

The attack appears to have been a deliberate attempt to disrupt army recruitment efforts. Damaanyo is a prominent training center for new army recruits, making it a symbolic and strategic target for insurgent groups like Al-Shabaab, which has long resisted efforts to rebuild Somalia’s national security institutions. As of now, no group has claimed responsibility for the bombing. Authorities have yet to release an official death toll or comment on the incident. 

The area around the recruitment base has been sealed off, and Somali security forces have launched an investigation into how the suicide bomber gained access to the heavily guarded facility. The number of casualties is significant and the death toll may rise as more information becomes available.

A similar incident occurred at the Damaanyo military base in 2023, when a suicide bomber also targeted the recruitment process. That attack resulted in the deaths of dozens of people.

By Naila Huseynova