December 2019 Mogadishu bombing

On the morning of 28 December 2019, a suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives at the Ex-Control Afgoye police checkpoint on the western outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia. The attack occurred during local rush hour at a busy intersection that connects Mogadishu with the rest of southern and southwestern Somalia. The checkpoint is located near a tax office and is heavily used by vehicles entering the city from the nearby town of Afgooye.

The explosion caused extensive damage to the surrounding area, leaving many victims burned beyond recognition. At least 85 people were killed, more than 140 others were wounded, and as of 31 December 2019, 12 people remained missing. Among the dead were at least 15 university students from Benadir University whose minibus was destroyed in the blast, as well as two Turkish engineers who had been working on a road construction project linking the checkpoint to the city. Fifteen critically injured victims, including an eight-month-old infant, were airlifted to Istanbul, Turkey, for further medical treatment, while thirty other critically injured people were treated in Qatar and neighboring countries.

The attack was the deadliest in Somalia since the 14 October 2017 Mogadishu bombings, which killed 587 people. Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire announced the creation of a national response committee to assist the injured and support families of those who died.

No group initially claimed responsibility. Two days later, on 30 December 2019, the militant Islamist group Al-Shabaab claimed the attack through spokesman Ali Mohamud Rageh, also known as Ali Dhere. The group stated it had targeted a convoy of Turkish and Somali forces, saying it had "inflicted heavy losses on the Turks and the apostate militias who were protecting them."

Somalia's National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) subsequently stated that a foreign country had helped organize the attack, saying it had submitted a preliminary report to national leaders and would seek cooperation from international intelligence agencies to complete the investigation. NISA's statement did not name the country it suspected of involvement or provide additional evidence.

In response, the Somali government, in coordination with U.S. Africa Command, carried out three retaliatory airstrikes targeting Al-Shabaab leaders in the Lower Shabelle region. The strikes, conducted in the villages of Kunyo Barrow and Aliyow Barrow, killed four militants and destroyed two vehicles.