A Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 25 at a Training Academy in Somalia’s Capital, an Army Officer Says

BY OMAR FARUK

11:59 AM EDT, July 24, 2023

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A suicide bomber on Monday targeted a military training academy in Somalia, killing 25 soldiers in the capital of Mogadishu, a senior army officer said.

Al-Qaida’s affiliate in East Africa, the Somalia-based al-Shabab, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The officer said more than 40 others were wounded in the bombing at the Jalle Siyad military academy, said the officer. He only his first name, Abdullahi, because he was not authorized to speak publicly. There was no immediate statement from Somali authorities.

Somalis who fled the conflict in Sudan sit in a bus after arriving back home at the airport in Mogadishu, Somalia Sunday, April 30, 2023. 148 Somali nationals, mostly students, fleeing violence in Sudan arrived back home by plane on Sunday from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, after a land trip from Sudan via Ethiopia facilitated by the Somali government. (AP Pho

Al-Shabab controls parts of rural Somalia and often targets high-profile areas of the capital.

Somali authorities launched a new offensive against al-Shabab last year to try to recapture extremist-held territory and dismantle the taxation and broader financial network that funds the fighters.

Somalia’s military is under growing pressure to assume responsibility for the Horn of Africa country’s security as a multinational African Union force slowly draws down. Partners including the United States, the European Union and Turkey help to train Somali forces.