Huge Explosion Targets Major Turkish Military Base in Somalia

Two people were killed after a suicide bomber detonated his explosives outside Turkey’s largest overseas military base in Mogadishu on Tuesday, Somali officials said, the latest reminder of Somalia’s struggle to curb the deadly attacks that have haunted the country for years.

The attack, which bears the hallmarks of the Shabab group, was carried Tuesday morning as recruits lined up for enlistment at Camp Turksom, where hundreds of Somali soldiers are trained and the new enrollment of dozens was underway.

The bomber posed as a potential recruit, but when he refused to respond to the commands of guards, they shot at him, authorities said. The explosion killed one recruit and a bystander, said a Somali government spokesman, Ismael Mukhtar Omar.

A website linked to the Shabab reported that the group had taken responsibility for the attack, and the terrorist organization has previously carried out similar attacks against the Somali government and Turkish interests in Somalia.

“The process of the recruitment was not a secret,”. Omar said, “And the soldiers who were vigilant about this sort of attack did their duty when he refused their orders.”

The military facility, which opened in 2017 and reportedly cost $50 million, is part of an effort by Turkey to increase its foothold and influence in the Horn of Africa. The country’s defense ministry called the attack “vile” and said none of its personnel was harmed in the attack.