MOGADISHU, March 18, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The Al-Shabaab Islamist group detonated a bomb on Tuesday moments after a presidential convoy passed by in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, destroying a building and damaging cars.
 
Government sources said President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was travelling to Hirshabelle state, where the army is reportedly planning a major offensive against the Islamist Al-Shabaab group.
 
"The explosion went off along the road in Hamar-Jajab area, destroying a civilian-populated building," a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
 
"The convoy of the president passed... and we heard a very heavy explosion," witness Nurto Ali said, adding he saw one man buried under rubble.
 
Somali national security advisor Hussein Sheikh Ali said on X that the president was safe, adding that "the nation cannot be intimidated".
 
Another witness, Farhan Abdullahi, told AFP that many passengers were wounded in a car damaged by the blast.
 
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes a week after militants from the group stormed a hotel in central Somalia, killing nine people.
 
The group has been fighting the federal government for over 15 years, carrying out deadly attacks in Mogadishu and other regions.
 
Although they were driven out of the city by African Union forces in 2011, they are still present in rural areas.
 
Somalia's president has promised total war against Al-Shabaab. The army has joined forces with local militias in a military campaign backed by an African Union force and US air strikes.