2008 Hargeisa–Bosaso bombings
Encyclopedia
The Hargeisa–Bosaso bombings occurred on October 29, 2008, when six suicide bombers attacked in coordinated car-bombings targets in Hargeisa
, the capital of Somaliland
, and the Puntland
port of Bosaso, both in northern Somalia
. The bombings killed at least 30 people.
n consulate, and UNDP offices, while in Bosaso the offices of the Puntland Intelligence Service were hit.
Twenty people died at Ethiopia's consulate in Hargeisa, while at least five were killed in the synchronized blasts at the local president's office and a UN building there. Two of the dead in the latter location were UN staff members, a driver and a security adviser. Six UN staff members were also injured in the blast that blew off the roofs of the UN compound. The UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, Mark Bowden, said: "While Somalia is one of the most dangerous places in the world for aid workers, Hargeisa has been relatively stable and consequently many United Nations staff were stationed there.""
Medical staff in Bosaso said October 30 that two more soldiers wounded in the intelligence headquarters blasts died overnight, bringing to at least five the victims of that strike."
, Mohamud Ismail, for this attack and several others in a recent wave of attacks. A relative of the sheik, Abdishakur Mire, said: "Soldiers attacked our house and opened fire on us. They injured my uncle in the arm and then took him away." Authorities declined to give further details. However, the Interior Minister, Abdillahi Ismail, said the blasts were planned from Mogadishu
.
Ismail was eventually released on November 10.
, were investigating whether Shirwa Ahmed, a Somali immigrant and Minneapolis resident, was one of the suicide bombers in the attack.
ic insurgency group, Al-Shabaab
, is believed to be responsible. Suspicion fell, by at large, on Islamist insurgents in general who were fighting the Somali government and its Ethiopian military allies. Al-Shabaab posted a video of a suicide bomber on the Internet but did not explicitly link this to the attacks. The United States, however, blamed al-Qaeda
, which it says works through Shabaab, for the attacks which overshadowed a summit in Kenya to discuss the 17-year-long conflict in Somalia.
Hargeisa
Hargeisa is a city in the northwestern Woqooyi Galbeed region of Somalia. With a population of approximately 2 million residents, it is the second largest city in the country. Hargeisa is the capital of Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region...
, the capital of Somaliland
Somaliland
Somaliland is an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent for a few days in 1960 as the State of...
, and the Puntland
Puntland
Puntland , officially the Puntland State of Somalia , is a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998....
port of Bosaso, both in northern Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
. The bombings killed at least 30 people.
Attack details
Targets in Hargeisa include the presidential palace, the EthiopiaEthiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n consulate, and UNDP offices, while in Bosaso the offices of the Puntland Intelligence Service were hit.
Twenty people died at Ethiopia's consulate in Hargeisa, while at least five were killed in the synchronized blasts at the local president's office and a UN building there. Two of the dead in the latter location were UN staff members, a driver and a security adviser. Six UN staff members were also injured in the blast that blew off the roofs of the UN compound. The UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, Mark Bowden, said: "While Somalia is one of the most dangerous places in the world for aid workers, Hargeisa has been relatively stable and consequently many United Nations staff were stationed there.""
Medical staff in Bosaso said October 30 that two more soldiers wounded in the intelligence headquarters blasts died overnight, bringing to at least five the victims of that strike."
Arrests
Authorities in the Puntland said they had arrested a prominent local sheikSheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
, Mohamud Ismail, for this attack and several others in a recent wave of attacks. A relative of the sheik, Abdishakur Mire, said: "Soldiers attacked our house and opened fire on us. They injured my uncle in the arm and then took him away." Authorities declined to give further details. However, the Interior Minister, Abdillahi Ismail, said the blasts were planned from Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
.
Ismail was eventually released on November 10.
Possible U.S. link
Authorities in Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, were investigating whether Shirwa Ahmed, a Somali immigrant and Minneapolis resident, was one of the suicide bombers in the attack.
Reactions
The presidents of Somaliland and Puntland condemned the bombings. Dahir Rayale Kahin, president of Somaliland, claimed that the attacks were an attack on Somaliland's "nationhood", and rare in the relatively peaceful breakaway state. He also stated that everything would be done to find out who was responsible for the attacks.Responsible faction
While no groups have taken responsibility for the attacks, an IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic insurgency group, Al-Shabaab
Al-Shabaab (Somalia)
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen , more commonly known as al-Shabaab , is a terrorist group of militants fighting to overthrow the government of Somalia. As of 2011, the group controls large swathes of the southern parts of Somalia, where it is said to have imposed its own strict form of Sharia law...
, is believed to be responsible. Suspicion fell, by at large, on Islamist insurgents in general who were fighting the Somali government and its Ethiopian military allies. Al-Shabaab posted a video of a suicide bomber on the Internet but did not explicitly link this to the attacks. The United States, however, blamed al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
, which it says works through Shabaab, for the attacks which overshadowed a summit in Kenya to discuss the 17-year-long conflict in Somalia.
See also
- List of terrorist incidents, 2008
- February 2008 Bosaso bombings
- War in Somalia (2006–present)War in Somalia (2006–present)The War in Somalia was an armed conflict involving largely Ethiopian and Somali Transitional Federal Government forces and Somali troops from Puntland versus the Somali Islamist umbrella group, the Islamic Court Union , and other affiliated militias for control of the country. There is a clear...