In September 2023, Somalia suffered the most suicide bombings (and attempts) in a single month since Shabaab began utilizing the tactic in 2006. At least 14 attempted and successful suicide bombings were reported in September, accounting for the single highest monthly total for deployed suicide bombers in Somalia in seventeen years.

Somali officials managed to thwart three suicide bombing attempts. All but one of the successful suicide bombings used suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (SVBIEDs), or suicide car bombs, with just one instance of an explosive vest or belt. The tactic was used in a multitude of ways, including as part of wider assaults, attempted assassinations, and as part of terror attacks against civilians. And roughly half took place in central Somalia, the current scene of the heaviest fighting against Shabaab.

All but two of the suicide bombings were targeting either the Somali government and officials, Somali troops, or Somali civilians themselves. The additional two suicide bombings targeted Ethiopian troops in two separate convoys in southern Somalia.

At least 70 people were killed in these suicide bombings, though this number represents a conservative estimate and the realistic number is likely much higher. Somali and Ethiopian officials have downplayed or obfuscated fatality numbers for several of the blasts, making it challenging to record accurate numbers.

Explaining this record high is likely a two-fold answer. First, though sporadic clashes and battles continue in central Somalia, the large-scale counter-offensive against Shabaab does not carry the same momentum it once did. This has allowed space for Shabaab to reconsolidate its forces and have a degree of freedom of movement, which Shabaab has exploited to deploy suicide bombers. Particularly, it has used this degree of freedom of movement to try to strike back at those in charge of the fight against it.