This is a 2016 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
January January 1Gunmen 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. January 2A popular restaurant in Mogadishu is attacked by a suicide bomber, killing 4 people including himself. January 15Al-Shabaab militants had raided an African Union base in southern Somalia with unconfirmed reports of dozens of soldiers being killed in the process. January 21Al-Shabaab militants attack the lido or beach area in Mogadishu, killing at least 20 people.
February February 2Daallo Airlines Flight 159 explodes in mid-air with only the suicide bomber dying but 2 remain injured. February 5Al-Shabaab has claimed to have seized control over the southern port town of Marka after Somali forces and AU forces leave. February 15A car bomb in Mogadishu kills the defence minister and injures another. February 26Al-Shabaab militants raid the Somali Youth League hotel in Mogadishu, killing 14 people. February 28At least 30 people are killed by al-Shabaab militants who bombed a restaurant near the town of Baidoa.
March March 7According to the Pentagon, US air strikes kill at least 150 al-Shabaab militants near the city of Buloburde. The Australian Navy also seizes an arms cache off Oman's coast heading towards Somalia. March 9US troops stage an overnight raid on the al-Shabaab controlled city of Awdhegele in the Lower Shebelle region. March 28At least 115 al-Shabaab militants are killed by Somali forces in the Galmudug region with an extra 110 captured. March 31A suicide bomber in Puntland kills the treasurer of Galkayo, Saeed Ali, by hugging him, along with several officers guarding him.
April April 1A US drone strike reportedly kills a key al-Shabaab leader, Hassan Ali Dhoore, in Jilib and two other militants. April 11At least five people are killed and seven others injured by a car bomb claimed by al-Shabaab against a government building in Mogadishu. April 12For the past two days, US officials claim air strikes in southern Somalia killed a dozen suspected al-Shabaab militants. April 16African 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.
May May 2The first British troops are deployed in Somalia to help combat al-Shabaab as part of a UN mission. May 9A suicide car bomb claimed by al-Shabaab blows up at Mogadishu's traffic police headquarters killing 4, including at least 2 Somali police officers.
June June 1Al-Shabaab militants claim responsibility for a car bomb on a hotel in Mogadishu killing 16 and injuring a further 55. At the same time, the US declares an air strike killed a top al-Shabaab commander, Abdullahi Da'ud. June 2At least 16 al-Shabaab militants are killed in a raid by Somali forces near Kismayo, including the mastermind behind the Garissa University College attack. June 9Al-Shabaab claims to have killed 60 Ethiopian troops at an AU base. June 21Five police officers in Kenya are killed in an ambush by al-Shabaab near their convoy in El Wak, Kenya. June 25An 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. June 29Five suspected militants are killed by Kenyan forces in Lamu County after a clash and Malindi.
July July 1At least six are shot dead and several wounded by al-Shabaab militants in two ambushed buses in Mandera, Kenya near the border with Somalia. July 11A clash between Somali forces and al-Shabaab sees 10 Somali troops killed and 12 al-Shabaab militants killed in Afgooye, Lower Shabelle. July 14An 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. July 26Al-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.
August August 21At least 20 people are killed in a twin suicide bombing by al-Shabaab against a Puntland local government office in Galkayo. August 30At least 10 people are killed by a car bomb detonated by al-Shabaab outside the President of Somalia's office.
October October 1Four people are killed with five injured by an al-Shabaab attack on a prison near Mogadishu. 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. October 4Somali forces kill 14 al-Shabaab militants in a raid in the Lower Shabelle region. October 6At least 6 people are killed in an al-Shabaab attack in neighboring Kenya's Mandera. October 25An intelligence officer is shot dead by an al-Shabaab militant in Mogadishu. October 26A militant group aligned with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant seizes Qandala in Puntland.
November November 7A fight between militias in Galkayo kills 29 people and wounds 50 more. November 26At least 20 people are killed in another car bomb attack in Mogadishu at a market. Somali forces arrest a suspect. November 28At least 28 people are killed in a clash between militia and al-Shabaab in the southern Mudug region. November 29A roadside bomb kills at least 4 Somali soldiers and leaves 11 others injured while forces have mulled an attack on ISIL.
December December 3Somali forces kill seven insurgents loyal to ISIL in a clash in the north of the country.
See also Operation Indian Ocean Somali Civil War (2009–present)
References