[4] The attack took place inside the meeting hall of the Hotel Shamo in Mogadishu during a commencement ceremony for medical students of Benadir University and was carried out by a suicide bomber standing at near the front of the stage.

[6] In attendance were the graduates and their family members, University officials,[7] and five ministers of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

[12] The three journalists killed in the bombing were: Mohamed Amiin Abdullah of Shabelle Media Network, a Somali television and radio network;[10][9] freelance photographer Yasir Mairo, who died of injuries in hospital;[9] and a cameraman alternately identified as freelancer Hassan Ahmed Hagi[10] and Al Arabiya cameraman Hassan Zubeyr[9] or Hasan al-Zubair.

[9] The explosion also injured six other journalists, including two—Omar Faruk, a photographer for Reuters, and Universal TV reporter Abdulkadir Omar Abdulle—who were taken to Medina Hospital in critical condition.

During a news conference held in the Hotel Shamo after the attack, President Ahmed called for international assistance to Somalia.

[10][15] According to Idd Mohamed, a senior Somali diplomat, the attack was carried out to foster "terror" and "panic" and undermine the legitimacy of the Transitional Federal Government.

[2] Stephanie McCrummen of The Washington Post described the attack as "the worst blow in months" to the United Nations-supported government of Somalia.

[2] Baroness Catherine Ashton, the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy for the European Union (EU), echoed AMISOM's sentiment, calling the bombing a "cowardly attack against civilians including students, doctors and journalists".