Somalia bombings

This item appears on page 14 of the December 2017 issue.

A truck bomb was detonated at a busy intersection in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Oct. 14, killing 358 people and injuring many others. The bomb destroyed restaurants, hotels and government buildings. 

No group took responsibility for the attack, but the bombing was blamed on the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab, though a spokesperson from the group denied it was involved. It is the deadliest single attack in Somalia since al-Shabaab began its insurgency there in 2007. 

On Oct. 28 in Mogadishu, at least 27 people were killed when a car bomb was driven into a hotel and another targeted the parliament house nearby, and then militants with firearms occupied the hotel for almost 12 hours. Three militants were taken alive, while two others detonated suicide bombs during the attack. Al-Shabaab claimed the Oct. 28 attack.