A Shabaab suicide bomber killed seven people in an attack at a medical clinic used by African Union forces.

The suicide bomber detonated his vest while waiting in line to enter the Halane medical clinic at the Mogadishu airport, the headquarters for the African Union Mission in Somalia.

Shabaab, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia, took credit for the suicide attack, claiming African Union doctors and soldiers were among those killed.

“We killed some of the senior medical officers and soldiers in the mercenary base,” Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mahamoud Rage told reporters. “It is part of our retaliation attack against the occupiers’ massacre of our people.”

An African Union spokesman said that only Somalis were killed in the suicide attack. Eleven people, including three African Union soldiers, were wounded in the attack.

The last suicide attack carried out by Shabaab also targeted medical personnel. On Dec. 3, 2009, a suicide bomber, who was disguised as a woman, detonated his vest in the midst of a graduation ceremony for Somali medical students from Banadir University. The ministers of health, education, and higher education, along with two reporters from Shabelle and Al Arabia, nine medical students, and a well-known doctor, were killed in the blast. Scores more were wounded, including the sports minister.

Shabaab has vowed to continue to attack African Union forces and the weak Somali government, which controls only small enclaves in the Somali capital.

Shabaab and its predecessor organization, the Islamic Courts, have conducted 20 suicide attacks since September 2006, when the first suicide attack was recorded in Somalia [see list below]. The latest four attacks have focused on senior leaders in the government and the African Union.

One of the most deadly suicide attacks took place on Sept. 17, 2009, when two suicide bombers penetrated security at an African Union base in Mogadishu and killed 21 people, including the deputy African Union commander and 16 other peacekeepers. One of the suicide bombers was later confirmed to be an American citizen recruited by Shabaab in Minneapolis. State Minister for Defense Sheikh Yusuf Mohammad Siad, who is better known as Indha’adde, sold intelligence to Shabaab that allowed the terror group to conduct the attack.

Suicide attacks in Somalia since September 2006:

Dec. 3, 2009: A Shabaab suicide bomber detonated his vest at a medical clinic at an African Union base in Mogadishu and killed seven people.

Dec. 3, 2009: A Shabaab suicide bomber dressed as a woman detonated his vest at a graduation ceremony for medical students at a hotel in Mogadishu and killed 19 people, including the ministers of health, education, and higher education, and two reporters.

Sept. 17, 2009: Shabaab suicide bombers penetrated security at an African Union base in Mogadishu and killed 21 people, including the deputy African Union commander and 16 other peacekeepers.

June 18, 2009: A Shabaab suicide bomber killed the security minister and a former ambassador during an attack outside a hotel in Beletwein that killed more than 35 people.

May 24, 2009: A Shabaab suicide bomber killed six policemen and a civilian in an attack on a police station in Mogadishu.

Feb. 22, 2009: Shabaab claimed to have conducted a dual suicide attack on Burundi troops in Mogadishu; the African Union claimed the attack was a mortar strike.

Oct. 29, 2008: Five suicide bombers struck four compounds in the semi-autonomous regions of Somaliland and Puntland, killing 28 and wounding scores more. Three suicide car bombers struck the presidential palace, the UN Development Program compound, and the Ethiopian Consulate in the city of Hargeisa in Somaliland. Two bombers targeted an intelligence facility in the city of Bosasso in Puntland.

April 8, 2008: A Shabaab suicide bomber rammed a car into the gate of the complex that housed peacekeepers from Burundi; one soldier was killed.

Oct. 11, 2007: A suicide bomber killed three Ethiopian soldiers near a base in Baidoa where the Prime Minister was visiting.

June 4, 2007: A suicide car bomber attacked the Somali Prime Minister’s home; seven were killed. Another suicide car bomb was detonated near an Ethiopian Army base.

April 25, 2007: A suicide bomber killed 11 during an attack on a hotel south of Mogadishu.

April 20, 2007: A suicide car bomber attacked an Ethiopian army base in the capital.

Nov. 30, 2006: A suicide bomber killed eight in an attack in Baidoa.

Sept. 18, 2006: In the first recorded suicide attack in Somalia, one or two suicide bombers attacked the convoy of the president of the Transitional Federal Government as he was heading to speak to parliament in Baidoa; six Somalis were killed.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.