PARTLY FALSE: These images don’t show the aftermath of an explosion in Mogadishu in October 2024

The images are from an explosion near the Somali parliament headquarters in 2021.

This Facebook post with two images claiming to show the aftermath of an explosion at a crowded restaurant in Mogadishu in October 2024 is PARTLY FALSE.

The images shared on 17 October 2024 depict extensive damage to vehicles and buildings.

The Somali text accompanying the post translates to, “A powerful explosion that was heard in all Mogadishu’s districts occurred at a restaurant located in the vicinity of School Polizia Facility. The explosion was carried out by a suicide bomber who entered the restaurant with a bag containing explosives, causing significant casualties, including loss of life, injuries, and property destruction. May God have mercy on those who died and those wounded.”

At least seven people, including soldiers, were killed in the suicide explosion near the School Polizia Facility in Mogadishu, as reported here and here.

The blast took place in front of the restaurant near Mogadishu’s main police facility, countering the claim that the bomber detonated the explosives inside the establishment.

A Google reverse image search showed that both images in the post are from an explosion near a checkpoint at the Somalia parliament headquarters in 2021.

The first image was published by Xinhua and Alamy websites on 13 February 2021.

The caption reads, “ People look at vehicles destroyed during a suicide bombing in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, Feb. 13, 2021. One person was killed and seven others injured when a suicide bomber drove a vehicle laden with explosives past a security checkpoint in Somalia capital, Mogadishu early Saturday, the police have confirmed. (Xinhua/Hassan Bashi).”

A further reverse image search revealed that the second image was also from the same explosion in Mogadishu in February 2021.

The first image appeared in a 13 February 2021 article by Mustaqbal Media titled “Mogadishu: An Explosion Occurred on the Road to Villa Somalia.”

The Somali Presidential Palace is known as Villa Somalia.

PesaCheck had previously debunked the second image.

Al-Shabab has been battling the Somalia federal government and the African Union-mandated peacekeeping mission since 2007, carrying out deadly attacks across the country.

PesaCheck has examined a Facebook post with two images claiming to show the aftermath of an explosion in front of a crowded restaurant in the Somalia capital, Mogadishu in October 2024 and found it to be PARTLY FALSE.

This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.

By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.

Have you spotted what you think is fake or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content.

This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Fact-Checker Hassan Istiila and edited by PesaCheck copy editor Paul Tajuba and chief copy editor Stephen Ndegwa.

The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck’s managing editor Doreen Wainainah.

PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org.

PesaCheck is an initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovateAFRICA fund, with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie, in partnership with a coalition of local African media and other civic watchdog organisations.