A powerful explosion followed by intense gunfire rocked the Jale Siyad military base in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, on Wednesday.
The al Qaeda-linked militant group Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, describing it as a suicide bomb targeting Western military trainers at the base.
Although details about casualties remain unclear, Al Shabaab stated that the bomber successfully detonated their explosives inside the base.
This incident echoes past attacks, including a 2023 suicide bombing at the same base that killed 25 soldiers and a May attack on the Damanyo military base that claimed at least 10 lives.
Al Shabaab has been waging an insurgency in Somalia since 2007 and has made significant territorial gains this year.
The attack occurs amid uncertainty over funding for a new African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, with the United States opposing a UN-backed financing model.