Somali President’s Palace Targeted by Al Shabaab Car Bomb

On August 30^th, 2016, a bomb targeted the palace of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud. The blast outside the SYL hotel killed 5 soldiers, 5 civilians, and wounding 30 others in the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu.

Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.

Al Shabaab is an Al Qaeda affiliate in Somalia fighting to the Somali government and the AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) a peacekeeping mission, following the ouster of al Shabaab from Mogadishu in 2011.

This is far from al Shabaab’s first attack on government officials, defense forces or military compounds in Somalia. The day before on August 29^th al Shabaab attacked military bases housing government and African Union troops. It’s also not the first attack on the president himself. President Hassan Sheik Mohamoud was in office for 2 days when Al Shabaab detonated explosives and opened fire on a conference the President was attending.
President Mohamoud is an Islamist activist who was a key figure in the Islamic Court Union. He was one of the founders of Mogadishu’s Simad University and known for moderating ICU meetings and clan disputes. He created a new Presidential party known as the Peace and Development Party (PDP), which was viewed as largely above clan politics according to a BBC News profile. Mohamoud is also known to be close to Al-Islah, the Somali branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Al Shabaab’s was once a part of the Islamic Court Union (ICU), which controlled much of Somalia under Sharia, Islamic law, before the ICU was driven out by an Ethiopian force in 2006. Al Shabaab emerged as a successful regional terror group, making multiple attacks on Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, and establishing close ties with Al Qaeda.

The ICU fractured with some Islamist groups (including now President Mohamoud) supporting the new government, and Al Shabaab continuing the insurgency. Al Shabaab’s goal remains establishing a state based on Islamic law and to abolish foreign influences.

Al Shabaab has seen some gains despite facing air strikes and operations from the Somali government’s allies. Al Shabaab has continued to maintain a strong presence south of Mogadishu, taking several key locations in 2015 and the beginning of 2016. Al Shabaab also recently announced the establishment of Sharia policing forces in Jilib, a city in Central Somalia.

Al Shabaab is currently facing competition in its role as the preeminent Jihadist organization however from the newly established Islamic State group in East Africa. Al Shabaab’s emir Ahmad Umar has warned members not to support IS, emphasized the group’s loyalty to Al Qaeda, and warned that traitors will be killed.

Islamic State announced the formation of an East Africa branch with training camps in Somalia in April of this year. The U.S. Treasury Department just recently listed IS East Africa leader Abdiqadir Mumin as a specially designated global terrorist. Mumin is a leader of an Islamic State group that is connected to individuals in East Africa.

Al Shabaab should be expected to continue to maintain the ability to strike at key targets in the Mogadishu area, despite AMISOM and Somali government efforts. It remains to be seen whether Islamic State will prove an effective competitor in Somalia.