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Multiple blasts rocked Mogadishu’s crowded Bakara market on Tuesday, leaving at least 10 people dead.
According to sources speaking with local news outlets, the incident unfolded within one of the busiest areas of the Somali capital. Following the explosions, over 20 individuals were rushed to Erdogan Hospital with injuries.
Eyewitness Mohamed Ali, a businessman at the market, recounted the chaos to Al Jazeera, stating, “We heard four huge explosions erupt inside four well-known electronic shops and we were shocked. We’ve seen so many people crying inside shops.” He described the immediate aftermath, where he assisted in carrying both dead and wounded victims from the affected shops. Somali police have initiated investigations to uncover the details surrounding the attack.
The exact cause of the blasts remains undetermined, though the region frequently experiences bombings by the al-Qaeda affiliated group al-Shabab. This terrorist organization has long opposed Somalia’s federal government and the African Union’s peacekeeping efforts, aiming to impose its own version of Islamic law. Bakara market, the largest in Mogadishu, is a central hub for the city’s residents, offering a wide range of goods from food and clothes to electronics, making it a critical part of daily life in the capital.
