Mogadishu – One hundred people were killed in twin car bombings in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday, the deadliest attack for years.
It is just the latest in a string of attacks in recent years in the Horn of Africa nation, many of which have been claimed by the Al-Shabaab Islamist militant group.
Here is a list of some of the deadliest since the Shabaab were ousted from Mogadishu in 2011:
2022
October 29: One hundred people are killed and 300 people are wounded in twin car bombings in Mogadishu near a busy city intersection which was followed by gunfire targeting Somalia’s education ministry.
October 3: A triple bombing by the Islamist group Al-Shabaab in central Somalia kills at least 30. Another 58 people were injured when three cars packed with explosives were detonated in Beledweyne, a city at the heart of recent offensives against the Al-Qaeda-linked militants who control swathes of Somalia.
August 19: The death toll from a devastating 30-hour siege Al-Shabaab at a hotel in Mogadishu kills 21. The gun and bomb attack by the Al-Qaeda-linked group on the popular Hayat hotel caused parts of the building to collapse, with many people feared trapped inside since the assault began on Friday evening.
2019
March 1: At least 20 people are killed in a siege in Mogadishu, which saw Al-Shabaab insurgents battling security forces for nearly 24 hours. The attack began on February 28 with a car bomb blast at a major hotel, then other fighters stormed a building housing a restaurant.
2018
December 22: A double car-bomb attack near the presidential palace in Somalia kills 20.
November 9: Twin car bombings and a suicide attack near a popular hotel in Mogadishu frequented by politicians claim the lives of at least 41 people.
February 23: At least 38 people are killed in two car bomb attacks targeting the presidential palace and a hotel in the capital. They are claimed by Shabaab.
2017
October 28: A car bomb explodes outside the entrance of the Nasa Hablod Hotel 2 in the north of the capital, followed by a minibus loaded with explosives going off at a nearby intersection.
Five gunmen then rush into the hotel where security services kill two attackers and three others are captured. At least 27 people are killed in the attack, claimed by the Shabaab. The police chief and head of intelligence lose their jobs.
October 14: A truck packed with explosives blows up in Hodan, a bustling commercial district in the city’s northwest, killing 512 people and injuring 295. There is no claim of responsibility.
February 19: A car bomb explodes in a busy intersection in Mogadishu, killing 39 people. No one claims responsibility but it takes place as Shabaab fighters threaten a “vicious war” against the new Somali president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.
January 25: At least 28 people die in a coordinated attack involving two car bombs and an armed assault by Shabaab fighters on the Dayah Hotel near the Somali parliament and state house.
2016
December 11: More than 20 people are killed when a truck loaded with explosives blows up near the capital’s port in an attack claimed by Shabaab.
February 29: At least 30 people are killed and about 60 are wounded in twin bombings in the southwestern city of Baidoa, claimed by the Shabaab.
2015
February 20: A twin suicide attack by Shabaab fighters on the Central Hotel kills at least 25 people, including two MPs.
2013
April 14: A nine-man suicide attack squad blasts its way into Mogadishu’s main court complex in a rampage that leaves 29 civilians dead, while a separate bomb attack kills five more.
2012
January 24: The Shabaab claims a suicide attack that kills 33 soldiers at a military base housing Ethiopian peacekeeping troops in central Somalia.
2011
October 4: At least 82 people die and 150 are injured in a truck bombing at the ministerial complex of the transitional government. It is the first attack claimed by the Shabaab since it was pushed out of Mogadishu.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Unsplash
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