At least 11 people were killed and several others injured in an explosion near a military recruitment center in Mogadishu, SMS Somali TV channel X reported.
According to the broadcaster, the incident occurred at the Damaanjo military base during the recruitment process for the Somali National Army.
In turn, the radio station “Dalsan“ claimed that it was an attack by a suicide bomber who carried out the explosion while he was among young people wishing to enroll in the army. Citing witnesses, it said at least two motor rickshaws were taking the injured to nearby hospitals before emergency services arrived.
“The attack appears to have been deliberately targeted to disrupt army recruitment. Damaanjo is a well-known training center for new soldiers for the national army, making it a symbolic and strategic target for insurgent groups such as Al-Shabaab, which have long opposed the restoration of Somalia's national security institutions,“ the radio station said.
No group operating in the country has yet claimed responsibility for the incident. Somali authorities have not commented on the incident or released an official death toll. The area around the incident has been cordoned off and Somali security forces are investigating how the suicide bomber managed to enter the secure area. Medical sources told Dalsan that there were a "significant number" of casualties, so the death toll could rise.
A similar incident occurred at the Damaño military base in 2023. Then a suicide bomber carried out an attack during a personnel selection process, killing dozens of people.