Gunman Kills 3 Emirati Soldiers, One Bahraini, One Somali in Mogadishu

The United Arab Emirates says that three Emirati soldiers, one Bahraini, and one Somali officer were killed on Saturday in an unprovoked attack carried out by a lone gunman with alleged ties to al-Shabab, an East Africa-based terrorist group linked to al-Qaida.

In a statement released on the social media platform X, the Emirati Defense Ministry said the shooting took place at Gordon military base near the Somali capital Mogadishu, and declared that the deadly attack was being investigated in coordination with the Somali government.

The UAE noted that the soldiers had been stationed in the African nation to help train the Somali Armed Forces, an arrangement negotiated as part of a larger defense agreement between the countries.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud sent his condolences to the Emirati government in a statement broadcast by state media.

According to a Somali military officer cited by Reuters, the gunman was recruited by the UAE and Somali armies after defecting from al-Shabab, which has waged an active insurgency in the country since 2006. The attacker reportedly opened fire on a group of praying Emirati and Somali soldiers before being shot dead at the scene, the officer stated.

Later that day, al-Shabab broadcast a statement on Radio Andalus claiming responsibility for the attack and said that 17 soldiers were killed by its operatives. As the largest armed faction openly opposing the internationally recognized government of Somalia, al-Shabab’s connections to al-Qaida’s financial networks and some 7,000 to 12,000 fighters allow it to capably threaten the government of what is de facto a failed state.

Medical staff at Erdoğan Hospital in Mogadishu, including a doctor and a nurse who spoke on the condition of anonymity, revealed that at least 10 Somali soldiers wounded in the attack had been brought to the facility.