Somalia’s bomb disposal experts face down fear to save lives

Wearing a bulky protective suit and helmet, Mohamed Ahmed inches towards the truck where explosives wired to a mobile phone have been planted in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.

Bombings using this technique, or suicide attacks with vehicles, are a common occurrence in Somalia, where insurgents linked to al Qaeda have been fighting the government since 2007.

In one of the most recent attacks, fighters from the al Shabaab militant group used a car bomb to blow up a restaurant in the capital where soccer fans were watching the final of the Euro 2024 tournament on television, killing five people.

Read more: Reuters