Bombs Hit Mosque in Somalia's Capital

Aftermath of explosion in Mogadishu mosque in the Horn of Africa nation of Somalia. Dozens of people were killed and wounded in the attack.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos

May 1, 2010

Bombs Hit Mosque in Somalia’s Capital, Killing Dozens

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN and MOHAMED IBRAHIM
New York Times

Dozens of people were killed on Saturday in a rare mosque bombing in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, in what may be a sign of increased bloodletting between Islamist insurgent groups.

According to witnesses, two powerful bombs ripped through a mosque in Bakaro market, an infamous trading den that has been under insurgent control for years. Several worshipers were killed, and some elders said a high-ranking commander of the Shabab insurgent group who preached there on Saturday may have been among the wounded.

In the past few months, as Somalia’s weak transitional government has been gearing up for a major offensive, tensions have been steadily rising between the country’s two most dangerous rebel groups, the Shabab and Hizbul Islam, both of which have strong presences in Bakaro. The two used to be close, and their hard-line Islamist ideologies, which called for amputations and public stonings, were virtually indistinguishable.

But their partnership has been souring. They have openly clashed several times in recent months, and this spring, a large explosion rocked another Shabab hide-out, leaving dozens dead. Somali security services blamed that on feuding between Islamist factions.

Describing the attack on Saturday, Abdulkadir Omar, who owns a stationery shop nearby, called it “a shocking event.”

“I saw more than 17 people removed from the mosque,” he said. “And then we couldn’t get access, because Shabab militias besieged the area.”

A few minutes later, the second bomb went off outside the mosque. Witnesses estimated between 25 and 40 people were killed in total.

The Shabab’s official spokesman, Sheik Ali Mohamoud Rageh, who often addresses journalists in Somalia by conference calls from unknown locations, blamed foreign mercenaries working for the government for the attack.

He also fueled speculation that one of the Shabab’s most senior commanders, Fuad Mohamed Khalaf, whose assets were recently frozen by the United State on suspicion of terrorist activities, was among the wounded. Witnesses said Mr. Khalaf frequently preached at the mosque, and had again on Saturday, finishing just around noon when the first bomb exploded.

“We are to sorry to inform you that a religious scholar who was teaching at the mosque was seriously wounded,” Sheik Ali said. He did not specify who that was. But many elders in Mogadishu said that was indeed Mr. Khalaf.

The attack was presaged earlier this week by an explosion outside another mosque in the same neighborhood, though it is not clear how many people were killed or wounded.

As Somalia’s Islamist fighters have drawn closer to Al Qaeda and recruited foreign fighters, including even some Americans, the number of Iraq-style suicide attacks and roadside bombs has steadily increased. But until now, mosques had seemed to be off limits. Many Somalis fear this bombing could mark a new wave of attacks on civilians.

At the same time, fighting continues between the government and the rebels. On Saturday night, the Hodan neighborhood in Mogadishu became yet another engulfed in combat, when a government-allied militia tried to drive out insurgents. Witnesses said that at least one person was killed and several wounded.

The United States has provided millions of dollars of military aid to Somalia’s transitional government in the hopes that it can quash the rebels and seize back the capital. Right now, government troops control only small slices of the city and poisonous political divisions within the government threaten to imperil any upcoming military operations.