At least 20 soldiers were killed after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest at Mogadishu’s Jaalle Siyaad Military Academy, early Monday, sources.
The number of casualties may increase, officials said.
The bomber targeted military personnel from the October 14 Brigade as they lined up after breakfast, killing at least 20 soldiers and injuring others.
It is not clear how the bomber managed to gain entrance into one of the most secure military bases in the capital.
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The October 14 Brigade was created in commemoration of the victims of the single deadliest terrorist attack in Africa, at Mogadishu’s Zobe junction which killed nearly 600 people on October 14, 2017.
The attack comes as the government and the Federal Member States are preparing the second phase of military offensives against al Shabaab.
The terror group has been waging a war with authorities which has left thousands dead and others displaced.
Somalia has not had a stable government after the fall of Siad Barre in 1991. Kenyan troops are in Somalia under African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) to help in fighting the al Shabaab terror group.
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In May, al-shabaab terrorists attacked a military base housing Ugandan forces of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia.
“There was an attack this morning at our base … by elements of al-Shabab but we are waiting for official communication from ATMIS headquarters,” said Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) deputy spokesman Deo Akiiki.
The terror group took responsibility for the attack saying that it carried out suicide bomb attacks and killed 137 soldiers.
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