MOGADISHU, Somalia (Kaab TV) – At least four Somali soldiers were killed and several others injured in a suicide bombing at the Jaalle Siyaad Military Academy in Mogadishu on Wednesday, military sources confirmed.
The attacker, believed to be an Al-Shabaab militant, managed to infiltrate the training camp, located just meters from the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Mogadishu’s Hodan district.
The bomber detonated explosives around 11:20 a.m., targeting an area where junior military officers had gathered near a teashop inside the facility.
“This man, wearing a suicide vest, infiltrated the junior officers who were at the teashop. We don’t know how he got in,” said one military source at the scene.
The victims belonged to the 14th October Brigade, a unit established in memory of the nearly 600 people killed in the 2017 K-5 junction bombing, the deadliest terrorist attack in Africa’s recent history.
One of the survivors, a soldier identified only as Hassan, said the fatalities were caused by the suicide explosion, which struck while soldiers were lined up inside the training camp.
Somalia’s Minister of Defense, Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, confirmed the attack and said an investigation is underway.
In a statement, the Ministry of Defense described the incident as a terrorist act carried out by Al-Shabaab, referring to the group as “Khawarij”, a term Somali authorities use to label the militants.
“The explosion was caused by a suicide bomber from the Al-Shabaab Khawarij who targeted the entrance of the Jaalle Siyaad Military Academy,” the statement read. “Security agencies have launched a full investigation, and the Somali public will be informed once findings are complete.”
The Jaalle Siyaad academy has previously been targeted by Al-Shabaab. In 2022, a similar suicide bombing at the same base killed 25 soldiers and injured more than 70.
Despite arrests of three military officers, including a colonel, no one was publicly prosecuted, and the investigation promised by the government has never been released.
Military sources also indicated that foreign trainers, including Western personnel supporting the Somali National Army, were present at the facility during the latest attack, though it remains unclear whether any were among the casualties.