Somalia: at least six dead in a Shebab attack on the mayor's office in Mogadishu
An ambulance waits outside the mayor's office in Mogadishu after an Al-Shabaab terror attack and ensuing shooting, January 22, 2023. © Feisal Omar / Reuters
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2 mins
In Somalia, at least six civilians died on Sunday January 22 in an attack by radical Islamist Shebabs, when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the capital Mogadishu.
In the ensuing shootout, all six attackers were also killed and police say the situation has returned to normal.
This is the latest attack in a long series that have occurred since the beginning of the year.
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According to the spokesman for the Somali police, it was the office of the mayor of Mogadishu which was targeted in this attack which lasted four hours.
A suicide bomber set off a loud explosion that damaged buildings, then a shootout ensued.
“
All six attackers were killed.
Five during the firefight with the security forces, and one blew himself up
, Sadik Dubishe told the press and AFP.
Six civilians were also killed during the attack, and the situation returned to normal
.
All staff at the mayor's office were rescued, according to police.
The attack was claimed by the radical Islamists of the shebabs.
Somali forces outside the mayor's office in Mogadishu after an Al-Shabaab terror attack and ensuing shootout, January 22, 2023. © Feisal Omar / Reuters
A week marked by attacks
This week, this group affiliated with the jihadist organization Al-Qaeda has stepped up offensives against the army.
This while the Somali state, with the support of American airstrikes and an African Union force,
has launched a "
total war
" against the Shebabs,
who occupy parts of the territory.
On Friday January 20, seven soldiers were
killed in an attack on a military camp by Islamists in Galcad
, a town in the center of the country recently taken over by pro-government forces.
The United States Command for Africa (Africom) said on Saturday January 21 in a press release that this attack had been carried out by a hundred Shebabs, and had cost the lives of “
about thirty
” of them.
On Tuesday, January 17, radical Islamists had already launched another attack against a military camp in Hawadley, about 60 km north of Mogadishu, killing 11 soldiers.
The day before, the Somali army had announced that it had taken over, without any fight, Harardhere, a port city located about 500 km north of Mogadishu and controlled since 2010 by the Shebabs.
The government had assured that the recovery of this "
strategic
" city constituted a "
historic victory
".
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To read also:
Somalia: "The current government is much more serious about fighting the Shebabs"
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Somalia
Shebabs
Terrorism