Al-Shabaab, a fundamentalist militant group and ally of al-Qaeda, has waged an insurgency for more than a decade and continues to control parts of southern and central Somalia. The group tried to assassinate Hassan in 2012,[6] 2013,[7] and 2014.[8]
Within the first day of the offensive, al-Shabaab took over more than 15 towns and villages in the regions of Middle Shabelle, Hiran, and Lower Shabelle. The state capital Jowhar was later surrounded by al-Shabaab fighters, and Hirshabelle president Ali Abdullahi Hussein fled the city. Opposition media compared the event to Afghan president Ashraf Ghani's escape from Kabul when it fell to the Taliban.[9]
On 7 March 2025, the American Embassy in Mogadishu issued an alert cautioning of potential military operations by al-Shabaab, prompting several nations to cancel flights to Aden Adde International Airport.[12][13][14] In a speech on 8 March 2025, Mohamud stated that America was disseminating "fake alerts", and such warnings were intended to destabilize his administration. Mohamud argued that these alerts undermined Somalia's sovereignty and urged the nation to focus on self-reliance rather than depending on foreign support.[15]
On 11 March 2025, six al-Shabaab attackers stormed the Cairo Hotel in Beledweyne, detonating a suicide car bomb and launching a 24-hour siege.[16] The hotel was hosting clan elders and military officials coordinating Shabelle offensives. More than 21 people were killed, including all six attackers and two traditional elders, while dozens were injured.[16]
Attack
The bomb struck a vehicle as it passed a checkpoint near the president's at el-Gaabta intersection, a heavily fortified part of the security perimeter surrounding the presidential complex Villa Somalia in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. President Mohamud's entourage was traveling to Aden Adde International Airport to join troops on the front lines in Hirshabelle.[17] The bomb was planted on the roadside beneath a two-story building, causing severe damage, including to a neighboring security convoy's bulletproof vehicle.[18][19]
The blast killed at least 10 people, seven security personnel and three civilians, and injured 20 others.[2] Among the victims was 31-year-old Somali Radio Risaala journalist Mohamed Abukar Dabaashe, who became the first journalist killed in Somalia in 2025.[20] Other eyewitnesses only reported two or three deaths.[16]
Twenty-two journalists reporting the attack from the prominent radio station Risaala Media, which was briefly shutdown by the government, were detained by police.[19]
Presidential adviser Zakariye Hussein wrote in a post on X that Hassan was "good and well on his way to the front lines."[3] The Ministry of Information of Somalia released a statement calling the attack a "cowardly act of desperation".[21]
The Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) condemned the attempted killing, calling it a "cowardly attack" and extending condolences to Dabaashe's family and the broader media community.[20]
Several different countries and organizations offered condolences and condemnation of the attack, including Algeria,[26] Egypt,[27] Jordan,[1] Kuwait,[1] Mauritania,[28] Palestine,[1] Qatar[1] Saudi Arabia,[29] Ukraine,[25] the United Arab Emirates,[1] the United Kingdom,[25] and the United States.[30]
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Al-Shabaab [2] 
