May 2010 Mogadishu bombings

{{Infobox civilian attack

| title = May 2010 Mogadishu bombings

| image = Bakaara Market.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Bakaara Market, the site of the bombings, taken sometime before 2008

| location = Mogadishu, Somalia

| target = Abdala Shideye Mosque

| coordinates =

| date = 1 May 2010

| time = 13:00

| timezone = UTC+3

| type = Bombings

| fatalities = 39{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/scores-dead-after-blasts-rip-through-somalian-mosque/article1553599/|title=Scores dead after blasts rip through Somalian mosque|date=1 May 2010|work=The Globe and Mail|publisher=CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc|accessdate=1 May 2010|location=Toronto, Ontario}}

| injuries = 70

| victim =

| perps = Unknown

| perp =

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| susperp =

| weapons =

| numparts =

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| dfens =

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}}

The May 2010 Mogadishu bombings were an attack at a mosque near the Bakaara market in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, on {{nowrap|1 May 2010}}. The bombs killed at least 39 people and injured around 70 others.{{cite news|title=Somali blasts kill at least 30 at 'militants mosque'

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8655912.stm

| work = BBC News

| date = 1 May 2010

| accessdate = 1 May 2010}}

Background

Somalia, which has not had a functional central government since the 1991 deposing of President Siad Barre, is controlled by several different factions.{{cite news|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/05/20105113351591462.html|title= Dozens dead in Somali mosque blasts |date=1 May 2010|work=Al-Jazeera|accessdate=1 May 2010}} The area of the capital where the bombings occurred, including the mosque and the Bakaara Market, was under the control of al-Shabaab, a militant organisation that was engaged in a struggle against the provisional Transitional Federal Government.{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/05/01/somalia.attack/|title=Somalia mosque explosions kill at least 35|author=Unattributed|date=1 May 2010|work=CNN|accessdate=1 May 2010}}{{cite web|url=http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/releases/2009/fa-s090821.html|title=Listing of Al-Shabaab as a Terrorist Organisation|last=Smith|first=Stephen|author2=Robert McClelland|date=21 August 2009|work=Australian Ministry for Foreign Affairs|publisher=Government of Australia|accessdate=1 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707071846/http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/releases/2009/fa-s090821.html|archive-date=7 July 2010|url-status=dead}}

Bombings

The bombings occurred around {{Nowrap|1 pm}} local time (10:00 UTC). The bombs were placed at opposite ends of the ground floor of the Abdala Shideye Mosque as people were awaiting the Dhuhr midday prayers.{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aD8C_vv4frRI|title=Somali Mosque Explosions Kill at Least 28 People in Mogadishu|last=Hamsa|first=Omar|date=1 May 2010|work=Bloomberg.com|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|accessdate=1 May 2010}} It is believed that Fuad Mohamed Qalaf, an upper-level official within al-Shabaab, was the intended target of the attacks.{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article7113832.ece|title=Thirty dead in Somalia mosque bombings|last=Henry|first=Robin|date=1 May 2010|work=The Times|publisher=News Corporation|accessdate=1 May 2010|location=London, UK}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Qalaf was reported to have suffered only minor injuries to his hands.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/01/AR2010050101549.html|title=Blasts at Somali mosque kill 32-al Shabaab|last=Guled|first=Abdi|author2=Mohamed Ahmed|date=1 May 2010|work=The Washington Post|accessdate=1 May 2010}}{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

The attack was the deadliest in Mogadishu since the Hotel Shambo bombing in December 2009.{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5il2DUSIJHPPx8f1pAmjF26DJ13Iw|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125001109/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5il2DUSIJHPPx8f1pAmjF26DJ13Iw|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 25, 2013|title=Twenty-five killed in Mogadishu blasts: officials|last=Abdinur|first=Mustafa Haji|date=1 May 2010|work=AFP|accessdate=1 May 2010}} Information Minister Dahir Mohamud Gelle said it was the first such attack in a mosque in Somalia.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/01/AR2010050102042.html|title=Two bombs kill at least 30 at mosque in Somali capital|last=Raghavan|first=Sudarsan|date=1 May 2010|work=The Washington Post|accessdate=1 May 2010}}

Reaction

Ambassador Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra, representing the African Union, said "Indiscriminate attacks on public places like today's incident cannot be condoned. I, on behalf of the African Union, would like to call upon all warring parties in the Somali Conflict to stop such barbaric attacks on innocent civilian population."

While al-Shabaab has accused private Western security firms, no group has claimed any kind of responsibility for the bombings.