2016 timeline of the Somali Civil War explained

See main article: article and Somali Civil War (2009–present). This is a 2016 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).

January

• January 1 – Gunmen open fire at a mosque near Mogadishu, killing 1 person and injuring 4 others including a Turkish aid worker. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks but al-Shabaab are suspected to have orchestrated the attack.^[1]
• January 2 – A popular restaurant in Mogadishu is attacked by a suicide bomber, killing 4 people including himself.^[2]
• January 15 – al-Shabaab militants had raided an African Union base in southern Somalia with unconfirmed reports of dozens of soldiers being killed in the process.^[3]
• January 21 – al-Shabaab militants attack the lido or beach area in Mogadishu, killing at least 20 people.^[4]

February

• February 2 – Daallo Airlines Flight 159 explodes in mid-air with only the suicide bomber dying but 2 remain injured.^[5]
• February 5 – al-Shabaab has claimed to have seized control over the southern port town of Marka after Somali forces and AU forces leave.^[6]
• February 15 – A car bomb in Mogadishu kills the defence minister and injures another.^[7]
• February 26 – al-Shabaab militants raid the Somali Youth League hotel in Mogadishu, killing 14 people.^[8]
• February 28 – At least 30 people are killed by al-Shabaab militants who bombed a restaurant near the town of Baidoa.^[9]

March

• March 7 – According to the Pentagon, US air strikes kill at least 150 al-Shabaab militants near the city of Buloburde.^[10] The Australian Navy also seizes an arms cache off Oman's coast heading towards Somalia.^[11]
• March 9 – US troops stage an overnight raid on the al-Shabaab controlled city of Awdhegele in the Lower Shebelle region.^[12]
• March 28 – At least 115 al-Shabaab militants are killed by Somali forces in the Galmudug region with an extra 110 captured.^[13]
• March 31 – A suicide bomber in Puntland kills the treasurer of Galkayo, Saeed Ali, by hugging him, along with several officers guarding him.^[14]

April

• April 1 – A US drone strike reportedly kills a key al-Shabaab leader, Hassan Ali Dhoore, in Jilib and two other militants.^[15]
• April 11 – At least five people are killed and seven others injured by a car bomb claimed by al-Shabaab against a government building in Mogadishu.^[16]
• April 12 – For the past two days, US officials claim air strikes in southern Somalia killed a dozen suspected al-Shabaab militants.^[17]
• April 16 – African Union troops kill 4 Somali civilians in the town of Bulla Marer in the south of Mogadishu. The AU mission claimed that soldiers had opened fire on a car in fear as the civilians failed to stop at a roadblock.^[18]

May

• May 2 – The first British troops are deployed in Somalia to help combat al-Shabaab as part of a UN mission.^[19]
• May 9 – A suicide car bomb claimed by al-Shabaab blows up at Mogadishu's traffic police headquarters killing 4, including at least 2 Somali police officers.^[20]

June

• June 1 – al-Shabaab militants claim responsibility for a car bomb on a hotel in Mogadishu killing 16 and injuring a further 55.^[21] At the same time, the US declares an air strike killed a top al-Shabaab commander, Abdullahi Da'ud.^[22]
• June 2 – At least 16 al-Shabaab militants are killed in a raid by Somali forces near Kismayo, including the mastermind behind the Garissa University College attack.^[23]
• June 9 – al-Shabaab claims to have killed 60 Ethiopian troops at an AU base.^[24]
• June 21 – Five police officers in Kenya are killed in an ambush by al-Shabaab near their convoy in El Wak, Kenya.^[25]
• June 25 – An attack by gunmen on a hotel in Mogadishu sees at least 15 deaths, 25 injuries and an unknown number of hostages taken by al-Shabaab.^[26]
• June 29 – Five suspected militants are killed by Kenyan forces in Lamu County after a clash and Malindi.^[27]

July

• July 1 – At least six are shot dead and several wounded by al-Shabaab militants in two ambushed buses in Mandera, Kenya near the border with Somalia.^[28]
• July 11 – A clash between Somali forces and al-Shabaab sees 10 Somali troops killed and 12 al-Shabaab militants killed in Afgooye, Lower Shabelle.^[29]
• July 14 – An alleged al-Shabaab militant shoots and kills four police officers in Kapenguria, Kenya. However, it is later revealed that it was a rogue officer instead.^[30]
• July 26 – al-Shabaab claims responsibility for a double suicide car bombing near an AU base in Mogadishu at the airport, killing at least 13 including seven UN guards.^[31]

August

• August 21 – At least 20 people are killed in a twin suicide bombing by al-Shabaab against a Puntland local government office in Galkayo.^[32]
• August 30 – At least 10 people are killed by a car bomb detonated by al-Shabaab outside the President of Somalia's office.^[33]

October

• October 1 – Four people are killed with five injured by an al-Shabaab attack on a prison near Mogadishu.^[34] The Somali government also demands an explanation from the US after 22 civilians and other soldiers were killed in airstrikes in Galmudug as opposed to al-Shabaab militants.^[35]
• October 4 – Somali forces kill 14 al-Shabaab militants in a raid in the Lower Shabelle region.^[36]
• October 6 – At least 6 people are killed in an al-Shabaab attack in neighboring Kenya's Mandera.^[37]
• October 25 – An intelligence officer is shot dead by an al-Shabaab militant in Mogadishu.^[38]
• October 26 – A militant group aligned with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant seizes Qandala in Puntland.^[39]

November

• November 7 – A fight between militias in Galkayo kills 29 people and wounds 50 more.^[40]
• November 26 – At least 20 people are killed in another car bomb attack in Mogadishu at a market. Somali forces arrest a suspect.^[41]
• November 28 – At least 28 people are killed in a clash between militia and al-Shabaab in the southern Mudug region.^[42]
• November 29 – A roadside bomb kills at least 4 Somali soldiers and leaves 11 others injured while forces have mulled an attack on ISIL.^[43]

December

• December 3 – Somali forces kill seven insurgents loyal to ISIL in a clash in the north of the country.^[44]

See also

• Operation Indian Ocean
• Somali Civil War (2009–present)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Turkish aid worker injured, Somali local killed in deadly Somalia attack.
2. Web site: Suicide bomber kills three in Somali capital, police say.
3. Web site: Al-Shabab seizes African Union base in Somalia.
4. Web site: Somali forces end Mogadishu restaurant siege after deadly attack.
5. Web site: Blast blows hole in commercial plane over Somalia; 1 falls and dies.
6. Web site: Somalia's al Shabaab takes control of port.
7. Web site: Islamists kill Somalia's former defense minister with car bomb.
8. Web site: Mogadishu hotel attack: 14 dead as building in Somali capital stormed by al-Shabaab jihadists. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/mogadishu-hotel-attack-live-updates-al-shabaab-islamists-somalia-a6898481.html . 2022-05-01 . subscription . live .
9. Web site: Islamist group kills 30 in twin blasts in Somali town.
10. Web site: US drone, air strike kills more than 150 al-Shabaab fighters, Pentagon reveals.
11. Web site: Australian Navy says seizes huge weapons cache headed for Somalia.
12. Web site: US troops in helicopter-borne raid in Somalia: Pentagon.
13. Web site: Somali forces kill 'more than 100' al-Shabab fighters.
14. Web site: Terrorism In Somalia: Al-Shabab Suicide Bomber Hugs Puntland Official Before Detonating.
15. Web site: Officials: al-Shabab leader killed in Somalia drone strike.
16. Web site: Al-Shabab attack in Somali capital Mogadishu kills five.
17. Web site: U.S. air strikes kill suspected al Shabaab militants in Somalia.
18. Web site: African Union troops in Somalia kill four civilians.
19. Web site: First British troops arrive in Somalia as part of UN mission.
20. Web site: Al Shabaab car bomb attack kills at least two Somali police.
21. Web site: Al Shabaab car bomber strikes hotel in Somali capital, at least 15 dead.
22. Web site: U.S. airstrike kills key al-Shabab leader; terrorist group bombs Somali hotel.
23. Web site: Garissa university attack plotter Mohamed Kuno 'dead'.
24. Web site: Ethiopia base in Somalia attacked by al-Shabab.
25. Web site: Kenya: Five police killed in 'al-Shabab convoy attack'.
26. Web site: Gunmen Take Guests Hostage at Somalia Hotel, 14 Killed: Report.
27. Web site: Kenyan forces kill five suspected Islamist militants.
28. Web site: Children killed in attack on buses in northern Kenya.
29. Web site: Al-Shabab fighters attack Somali army base.
30. Web site: Kenya station attacker was rogue officer, not Islamist militant: police.
31. Web site: Al-Shabab bombs target African Union troops in Somalia.
32. Web site: Twin suicide bombs claimed by al Shabaab kill 20 people in Somalia.
33. Web site: Car bomb outside Somali President's Palace kills at least 10. Reuters. 30 August 2016. Abdi. Sheikh. Feisal. Omar.
34. Web site: Al-Shabaab claims responsibility for deadly car bomb near Somali prison.
35. Web site: Somalia says US air strike killed civilians not al-Shabab.
36. Web site: 14 al-Shabaab fighters killed in Somalia.
37. Web site: Somali Islamist militants kill six in Kenya attack.
38. Web site: Al Shabaab gunmen kill intelligence officer in Somali capital.
39. Web site: Islamic State-aligned group takes Somali town, say officials.
40. Web site: Fighting in Somalia's Galkayo city kills 29.
41. Web site: Somali Forces Arrest Suspect in Deadly Market Attack.
42. Web site: Over twenty people killed in clashes between Al-Shabaab and locals in central Somalia.
43. Web site: Bomb kills four Somali soldiers as forces mull attack on Islamic State.
44. Web site: Somali forces kill seven in clash with faction loyal to Islamic State.