Solved case · 2020
The short answer
A suicide car bombing claimed by al-Shabaab killed four people and injured at least 20 others near Afgooye, Somalia, on 18 January 2020, targeting Turkish road construction contractors and the police officers guarding them.
No one's coverage is attached to this file yet.
Know great coverage of this case?
A documentary, a podcast episode, a careful long-form video. Suggest it and an editor will review it before it appears here.
Suggest coverage for 2020 Afgooye bombingOn 18 January 2020, a suicide car bombing struck near Afgooye, a town in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region located roughly 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the capital, Mogadishu. The attack killed four people and injured at least 20 others. Most of the casualties were police officers who were providing security for Turkish contractors engaged in road construction in the area.
According to a Somali police commander, the intended target of the attack was the Turkish construction workers. The suicide bomber drove a car into an area where the engineers and their police escorts were having lunch, detonating the vehicle. Local witnesses described the explosion as "massive" and reported "clouds of smoke" following the blast.
The al-Qaeda-linked extremist group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the bombing, issuing a statement saying it was "behind the martyrdom of the suicide car bomb in Afgoye." Al-Shabaab originated as the armed wing of the Islamic Courts Union, which splintered into several factions after being defeated in 2006 by Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and its Ethiopian military allies. The group has frequently carried out attacks in and around Mogadishu in an effort to undermine Somalia's central government, which is backed by the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping forces (AMISOM). Its most severe prior attack, on 14 October 2017, killed more than 500 people in twin bombings in Mogadishu.
The bombing occurred amid substantial Turkish involvement in Somalia's reconstruction and humanitarian efforts. Turkey has been a major donor of humanitarian aid to Somalia, maintaining an embassy in Mogadishu until the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991. During the 2011 drought, Turkey contributed more than $201 million to relief efforts in affected areas of Somalia. Turkish assistance has also included building hospitals and helping renovate the Aden Adde International Airport and Somalia's National Assembly building.
In response to the attack, Turkey's Ministry of National Defense stated on Twitter: "We curse and condemn in the strongest terms the bomb terror attack which targeted innocent civilians in Somalia."
Al-Shabaab's predecessor, the Islamic Courts Union, is defeated by Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and Ethiopian military allies, leading to al-Shabaab's formation as a splinter faction.
Turkey contributes over $201 million to humanitarian relief efforts during a severe drought in Somalia.
Al-Shabaab carries out its deadliest attack, twin bombings in Mogadishu that kill more than 500 people.
A suicide car bombing near Afgooye, Somalia, kills four people and injures at least 20 others, targeting Turkish road construction contractors and their police escort; al-Shabaab claims responsibility.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
No public people records are attached to this file yet.
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
Are you family of someone named in this file? Corrections and removal requests from victims’ families are prioritized.
Credit: SandMan25CC BY-SA 4.0SourceUNSOLVEDListenTea shop, Daynile District, Mogadishu, Somalia · 2020s
An Al-Shabaab improvised explosive device destroyed a busy tea shop in Mogadishu's Daynile District on August 17, 2024, killing 20 people and seriously injuring 10 others.
UNSOLVEDListenHotel Shamo, Mogadishu, Somalia · 2000s
A suicide bomber attacked a graduation ceremony at the Hotel Shamo in Mogadishu, Somalia, on 3 December 2009, killing at least 24 people—including three Transitional Federal Government ministers, medical students, doctors, and journalists—and injuring 60 others.
UNSOLVEDListenMogadishu, Somalia · 1990s
On 13 June 1993, Pakistani UNOSOM II troops opened fire with a machine gun on thousands of Somali demonstrators marching against UN military operations in Mogadishu, killing at least 20 people, including women and children, and wounding more than 50.
Credit: Pax Ahimsa GethenCC BY-SA 4.0SourceSOLVEDListenPulse nightclub, Orlando, Florida, United States · 2016
On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen, identified by police as the gunman, shot and killed 49 people and wounded 58 others at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, during a Latin Night event, before being fatally shot by police after a three-hour standoff.
Credit: uploader and the RNAOCC BY-SA 3.0SourceSOLVEDListenYonge Street, North York City Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada · 2018
On April 23, 2018, a man drove a rented van into pedestrians along Yonge Street in Toronto's North York City Centre, killing 11 people and injuring 15 others before being arrested; he was later convicted on all counts and sentenced to life in prison.
Birstall, West Yorkshire, England · 2016
On 16 June 2016, British Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death in Birstall, West Yorkshire, by Thomas Alexander Mair. He was convicted in November 2016 of murder and related offences, with the judge finding the killing was an act of terrorism motivated by white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideology. Mair received a whole life order.
