7 Killed in U.N. Somali Bus Bomb as al Shabaab Targets AMISOM Contributors

Somalia’s Al-Qaeda’s affiliate group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for an attack on a bus carrying numerous UNICEF members in Northern Somalia. The minibus, painted with the United Nations logo, was completely destroyed by the blast. Human limbs were scattered throughout the blast site.   UNICEF workers from 6 different countries, including Somalis were casualties of the bombing in Garowe, the capital of the semi-autonomous Puntland region in Somalia.

The bomb was apparently placed under a seat and was detonated by a remote device, said police official Yusuf Ali. It is not clear if the bomb had been detonated by a suicide attacker or planted on the bus. Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud denounced the attack, declaring it an attack on the future of Somalia.

“In attacking UNICEF, Al-Shabaab has also attacked Somali children, “Mohamud added. “It is an attack against the future of our country and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.

The attack in the northeastern region of Somalia comes as a surprise since the recent events in Puntland. The Puntland region declared itself independent of Somalia in 1998 and has displayed recent success in maintaining its stability. In early January, Puntland security forces captured the last Al-Shabaab camp in the mountains of Diin Digle and arrested two commanders. Puntland represents a fundamental weakness of Al-Shabaab to implement Sharia law across Somalia. The attack in the Puntland region initially demonstrates Al-Shabaab’s continued motivation to exhibit its strength and remind the entire East African region that they can strike anywhere.

Abdiasis abu Musab, an Al-Shabaab spokesman, said they attacked the minibus because of the United Nation’s support of the African Union troops in Somalia. Al-Shabaab continues to stage frequent attacks against the internationally backed Somali government ever since Ethiopian troops entered Somalia in 2006 as part of a United States–backed invasion. The six countries that are involved in the African Union mission are Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone.

Al-Shabaab has carried out successful attacks in Uganda, Kenya, and Djibouti. In a recent attack in Uganda, Al-Shabaab assassinated Joan Kagezi, the lead prosecutor in the trial of 13 men accused of participating in the 76 person massacre at the 2010 World Cup. In Djibouti, two suicide bombers entered a restaurant detonating themselves, killing a Turkish national and wounding several others. In Kenya, Al-Shabaab extremists killed 148 people, nearly all students, during an attack on Garissa University in eastern Kenya.

Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, and Burundi have yet to be attacked by Al-Shabaab, but all have taken important steps towards security procedures. In June 2014, Ethiopian security officials detained 25 suspects for links to Al-Shabaab in the southwestern city of Jimma. Sierra Leone deployed peacekeeping troops to Somalia shortly after the devastating Westgate Mall attack, despite intense public outcry that there would be retaliation from Al-Shabaab. The United States Department of State formally warned Burundi residents to avoid travel and public places after Al-Shabaab threatened to attack them in late October. Al-Shabaab has lost vast amounts of territory to the Somali Army and African Union, but their capability to launch significant guerilla-style attacks still remains large. In recent years, they continue to show their reach despite losses of territory.