The deadliest bombings in Mogadishu: 2017, 2019 and 2022 (Qaraxyadii Muqdisho)

In short

This page brings together the three bombings in Mogadishu with the highest death tolls since the government returned to the city. It records what was reported, the figures as they changed, and who claimed responsibility. The wider conflict is described in Al-Shabaab and The offensive against al-Shabaab, 2022 to 2025. Earlier attacks are covered in Major attacks in Mogadishu, 2009 to 2013.

14 October 2017

A truck bomb exploded at a crowded junction near the Safari Hotel in Hodan district; a fuel tanker parked nearby fed the fire (Wikipedia, 14 October 2017 Mogadishu bombings, citing The Guardian, 16 October 2017).

• Deaths. The government gave 358 dead and 228 injured on 20 October (Al Jazeera, 20 October 2017). Al Jazeera later reported 512 dead; Wikipedia gives at least 587, as of March 2018 (Wikipedia, citing Hiiraan Online, 5 March 2018).
• Responsibility. No group claimed it. Officials attributed it to an al-Shabaab cell. The Economist reported that the truck passed two checkpoints without its cargo being searched (Wikipedia).
• Aftermath. President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo declared three days of mourning and gave blood, and thousands marched in Mogadishu against the attack. In February 2018 a military court sentenced two men to death; one, Hassan Aden Isak, was executed on 14 October 2018 (Wikipedia, citing Bloomberg and AP). Al Jazeera reported in January 2018 that more than 1,500 children had been orphaned (Al Jazeera, 31 January 2018).

28 December 2019

A truck bomb exploded during the rush hour at the Ex-Control Afgoye checkpoint on the western edge of the city. The toll was first given as 78, then at least 81 (Al Jazeera, 31 December 2019). Among the dead were at least 15 students of Benadir University, whose minibus was destroyed, and two Turkish engineers building a road from the checkpoint; Wikipedia later gives at least 85 dead and more than 140 injured, some flown to Turkey and Qatar for treatment (Wikipedia, December 2019 Mogadishu bombing).

• Responsibility. Al-Shabaab claimed it on 30 December, saying it had targeted a convoy of Turkish and Somali forces (Al Jazeera, 31 December 2019).
• Response. Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire set up a national committee for the injured and bereaved. Somali and US forces carried out air strikes in Lower Shabelle afterwards (Wikipedia, citing Reuters and VOA). UN Secretary-General António Guterres called it a "horrendous crime" (Al Jazeera, 29 December 2019).

The Hayat Hotel, August 2022

Al-Shabaab fighters stormed the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu on the evening of Friday 19 August 2022, and security forces ended the siege on the Saturday night, after about 30 hours. The health ministry said 21 people were killed and 117 wounded, and the authorities said more than 100 people, including women and children, were rescued. Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre called al-Shabaab "children of hell" and promised accountability for officials who had not done their duty (Al Jazeera, 22 August 2022). It was a gun-and-bomb siege rather than a single bombing, and its toll was lower than the three bombings on this page.

29 October 2022

Two car bombs exploded minutes apart near the education ministry at Zoobe junction, the same area as in 2017; the second went off as ambulances arrived (Wikipedia, citing Al Jazeera and AP). President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said at least 100 people had been killed and about 300 wounded, and called the attack "heinous" (Al Jazeera, 30 October 2022). The toll later rose to at least 121 (Wikipedia, 2022 Somali Ministry of Education bombings, citing Voice of America).

• Responsibility. Al-Shabaab claimed the attack on 1 November, calling the ministry an "enemy base" (Wikipedia, citing AP).
• Response. The president asked for doctors and medical supplies from abroad and promised free education to the victims' children. Amnesty International described the attack on civilians as a war crime (Wikipedia, citing VOA and Amnesty International).

Attacks in Beledweyne and at Mogadishu airport during the 2022 elections are covered in Al-Shabaab's attacks during the 2022 elections.

Attacks on Mogadishu hotels between 2015 and 2018 are covered in Al-Shabaab's attacks on Mogadishu hotels, 2015 to 2018.

Sources differ

• The 2017 toll. 358 (government, October 2017), 512, and 587 (as of March 2018) are all reported.
• The 2019 toll. At least 78, 81 or 85, depending on the date of the report.
• The 2022 toll. At least 100 (the president, 30 October 2022) or at least 121 (later reports).

Read the primary sources yourself

• Al Jazeera, "Mogadishu bombing death toll rises to 358" (2017): article.
• Al Jazeera, "Al-Shabab claims deadly attack in Somalia's Mogadishu" (2019): article.
• Al Jazeera, "At least 100 killed, 300 hurt in 'heinous' Mogadishu car bombings" (2022): article.