Somalia Suicide Attack Kills at least 13 Military Recruits in Mogadishu
Boutros Hussein and Noriko Watanabe
Modern Tokyo Times
Al-Shabaab Islamist insurgents are suspected of being responsible for killing at least 13 young military recruits in Somalia.
This happened in the capital, Mogadishu. A city that is frequently targeted by al-Shabaab (al-Shabab) Islamists who seek a strict version of Islamic Sharia law to govern society.
The death toll might increase further because 21 other people were hit by the suicide bomber. Hence, one minute, young recruits sought to join the armed forces of Somalia; the next minute, they were killed by a suicide bomber.
The attack took place at the Damanyo military base in Mogadishu.
AP News reports, “Mogadishu has been repeatedly targeted by the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group, which has waged an insurgency for over a decade. The group frequently attacks military and government sites as part of its effort to impose its strict interpretation of Islamic law.”
Lee Jay Walker (Modern Tokyo Times analyst) says, “Al-Shabaab Islamists – similar to other Islamic groups, including Al-Qaeda and ISIS (Islamic State – IS) – seek the establishment of a conservative Sharia Islamic state. Despite drone strikes by America and Turkey and other types of military support to the central government of Somalia – similar to regional African nations helping Somalia – the al-Shabaab Islamists are tenacious.”
Reuters reports, “Sunday’s attack followed the assassination on Saturday of Colonel Abdirahmaan Hujaale, commander of battalion 26, in the Hiiran region, after local reports of al Shabaab militant infiltration into government and security forces.”
Al-Shabaab is also involved in intrigues in northern Kenya and parts of Ethiopia. Also, apostates to Christianity are killed by al-Shabaab Islamists in Somalia and Kenya.
Voice of America reports, “Al-Shabab has been fighting successive Somali governments since 2006. The group controls large countryside areas in south-central Somalia. After the president of Somalia came to power in May 2022, self-organized local fighters supported by federal forces removed al-Shabab from vast areas in the central regions.”
The Islamist insurgency is likely to continue unabated for the foreseeable future.
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