On 28 December 2019, a

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

truck bomber killed at least 85 people at the Ex-Control Afgoye police checkpoint in

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

, Somalia. More than 140 others were wounded and, as of 31 December, 12 people remained missing. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack on 30 December. The attack was the deadliest in Somalia since the

14 October 2017 Mogadishu bombings On 14 October 2017, two truck bombings took place in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, killing at least 587 people and injuring 316 others. Almost all of the casualties were caused by one of the trucks which detonated when the driver, while at ...

, which killed 587 people.

Attack

The attack occurred at a busy

intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their ...

on the western outskirts of Mogadishu, at a police checkpoint during local

rush hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English, Indian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice e ...

. The major intersection connects Mogadishu with the rest of southern and southwestern

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

. The Ex-Control Afgoye checkpoint is located near a tax office, and is used by vehicles entering Mogadishu from nearby

Afgooye Afgooye (, , ) is a town in the southeastern Somalia Lower Shebelle (Shabellaha Hoose) region of Somalia. It is the center of the Afgooye District. Afgooye is the third largest city of Southwest State. Afgooye is one of the oldest towns on the ...

town. The truck

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

explosion caused massive damage to the surrounding area, and left many of the dead burned beyond recognition. At least 15 of those killed were university students returning to class at Benadir University, whose minibus was demolished in the explosion. Two Turkish

engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while consider ...

, who were constructing a road from the checkpoint into the city, were also killed in the bombing. Many others were wounded. Fifteen critically injured people, including an eight-month-old baby, were airlifted to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

for further medical treatment; thirty other critically injured people received medical treatment in

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

and other neighboring countries. Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire announced the establishment of a national response committee to help the injured and offer support to those who lost family members in the attack.

Responsibility and aftermath

Initially, no group claimed responsibility for the attack. On 30 December, two days after the attack, radical Islamist group Al-Shabaab, which had carried out previous suicide attacks in Mogadishu, claimed responsibility. Through spokesman Ali Mohamud Rageh (also known as Ali Dhere), the group stated that they targeted a convoy of Turkish and Somali forces in the attack, noting that they "inflicted heavy losses on the Turks and the apostate militias who were protecting them." Somalia's National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) stated that a foreign country helped organize the attack, issuing a statement that, "We have submitted to the national leaders a preliminary report indicating that the massacre against the

Somali people The Somali people (, Wadaad: , Arabic: ) are a Cushitic ethnic group and nation native to the Somali Peninsula. who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The East Cushitic Somali language is the shared mother tongue of ethnic Som ...

in Mogadishu on 28 December 2019 was planned by a foreign country. To complete the ongoing investigation we will seek cooperation from some of the international intelligence agencies." However, the statement did not name the country suspected to be involved or provide additional evidence. The Somali government, in coordination with

U.S. Africa Command The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM, U.S. AFRICOM, and AFRICOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. It is responsible for U. ...

, conducted three retaliatory

airstrike An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...

s targeting Al-Shabaab leaders in the

Lower Shabelle Lower Shabelle (, , , ) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in southern Somalia. Geography Lower Shabelle is bordered by the regions of Banaadir, Middle Shabelle (Shabeellaha Dhexe), Hiran, Bay, Middle Jubba (Jubbada Dhexe) and by the ...

region after the attack. The airstrikes, in the villages of Kunyo Barrow and Aliyow Barrow, killed four militants and destroyed two vehicles.Al Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab claims responsibility for Somalia truck bombing that killed 85
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mogadishu bombing, 2019-12 2019 murders in Somalia 2019 road incidents in Africa 2010s crimes in Mogadishu Car and truck bombings in 2019 21st-century mass murder in Somalia Al-Shabaab (militant group) attacks in Mogadishu December 2019 crimes in Africa Islamic terrorist incidents in 2019 Mass murder in 2019 Mass murder in Mogadishu Road incidents in Somalia Suicide bombings in 2019 Suicide bombings in Mogadishu Suicide car and truck bombings in Somalia Terrorist incidents in Somalia in 2019 Somali Civil War (2009–present)