At around 12:30 p.m., nine al Shabaab gunmen appeared at the entrance of the Mogadishu courthouse, and a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device exploded nearby as they entered. The explosion targeted security forces protecting the building and allowed the gunmen to make their way inside. Once inside, the attackers fired indiscriminately into the crowds. Some of the gunmen took positions on the roof and fired down on the surrounding streets where Somali security forces and African Union peacekeepers were arriving. Inside the courthouse, six al Shabaab fighters detonated suicide vests after expending all of their ammunition. Security forces eventually subdued the final three gunmen after a firefight lasting two to three hours.
Near the end of the firefight, another vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated in the city, targeting a convoy of Turkish relief workers accompanied by African Union personnel en route to the airport. Due to the nature of the target and the timing of the attack, it is unclear whether the explosion was part of the operation targeting the courthouse. It is unusual, however, to see two separate car bomb attacks in Mogadishu within three hours of each other. It is possible that the second vehicle-borne improvised explosive device was deployed on the route between the airport, where African Union forces are based, and the government center of Mogadishu in order to target a possible quick reaction force on its way to the courthouse or emergency responders and victims exiting the scene. Such an attempt could explain the timing of the second explosion, because it would need to be deployed in advance, waiting for a valid target.
Somali security sources and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said foreign elements played a part in the planning and execution of the attack. One of the suicide bombers is believed to have been a Canadian citizen of Somali descent who returned to Somalia after becoming radicalized and recruited by al Shabaab. This type of high-profile attack in Somalia is typically organized by the branch of al Shabaab's leadership that subscribes to an international jihadist ideology and includes many foreign fighters, including Afghan and Pakistani militants. It is possible that such foreign expertise or guidance has led to the increased capabilities and complexity of attacks in Somalia.
The April 14 attack was more complex than previous al Shabaab attacks. Its planning and execution demonstrated new capabilities, including recruiting and coordinating a larger number of suicide bombers and maintaining a higher level of operational security, that are worrying to the counterterrorism efforts in Mogadishu. The tactics of the operation resembled those of attacks in other countries and are especially reminiscent of Taliban attacks such as the one on a courthouse in Farah province on April 3. The combination of gunmen and suicide bombers was similar to several attacks conducted by the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa in recent months in the Malian cities of Gao and Timbuktu. While the attacks in Mali resulted in far fewer casualties than the 29 people killed in the Mogadishu attack, militants there succeeded in stretching out the armed standoffs before being overcome, allowing them to generate a perception of insecurity in the towns they targeted.
The target of the Mogadishu operation was a relatively soft one in a high-profile area of the city. It is also an important public space that civilians visit and represents a pillar of Somali governance. The government sector is supposed to be more secure than other parts of the capital, thanks to a series of security checkpoints and an increased military presence. But the courthouse is one of the less-protected compounds in the area. This is possibly because the complex needs to be accessible to civilians, unlike other government compounds such as the national assembly, the presidential palace and several government ministries — each which has its own security checkpoints manned by the Somali military and African Union forces. By comparison, the courthouse was only protected by several armed guards. Al Shabaab has bombed the government sector before, highlighting Somali security forces' inability to secure the area due to inefficiency and a lack of resources or possibly an insurmountable threat.
On April 15, the day following the attack, Somali security forces conducted extensive security operations throughout the capital and arrested more than 300 people suspected of involvement in al Shabaab activity. The operations targeted vehicle traffic in particular. Somali military forces, most likely Alpha Group, which is specialized in these types of counterterrorism operations, set up several ad hoc roadblocks to inspect vehicles and apprehend al Shabaab suspects. A Somali Supreme Court justice formally requested that African Union peacekeepers secure the courthouse. Meanwhile, an al Shabaab spokesman declared the group will continue to conduct similar attacks against the Somali government and its allies.
The April 14 attack demonstrates that al Shabaab is still able to conduct high-profile assaults in Mogadishu and has not disintegrated under the pressure of the security operations against them. While Somali security forces, and especially African Union peacekeepers, have regained control of large parts of southern Somalia over the past year, al Shabaab continues to resist advances against them in isolated areas and has even taken back territory, albeit in areas either abandoned or barely protected by security forces. Right now there is no threat of al Shabaab returning to a conventional campaign based on taking territory or defeating African Union forces, but the militant group continues to put heavy pressure on security forces by successfully targeting their presence both in rural areas and in Mogadishu.
