The Al-Shabab group has released a new video about the terrorist attack they carried out on October 4, 2025, targeting Godka Jilicow Prison in Mogadishu. They claim to have killed more than 42 government soldiers. The group stated that the raid was carried out by seven members, including two foreign nationals from Ethiopia and Tanzania. They also claimed that the attack resulted in the release of many prisoners, some of whom joined the attack. The video released by the group identifies the attackers as the son of Al-Shabab’s spokesman, Mr. Ali Mohamed Rage, known as Ali Dheere. Spokesman Ali Dheere stated that his son, Abdirahman Ali Mohamud Dheere, chose to be among the fighters who detonated themselves in Godka Jilicow prison. The video shows a vehicle disguised as one belonging to the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) passing through several security checkpoints before reaching Godka Jilicow Prison and detonating. The video also shows armed Al-Shabab fighters engaging in combat inside the prison. The group claims that the reason for the attack was to retaliate against the atrocities committed against civilians who were arrested without proper evidence. This attack is part of a larger strategy to target prisons, as evidenced by a previous raid on Bosaso Prison. One of the foreign nationals who participated in the attack stated that he came to Somalia to liberate the country from foreign troops. This attack on Godka Jilicow Prison was the last of its kind in Mogadishu and served as a lesson for security agencies in Somalia, as the group used new tactics to bypass checkpoints.
