[1] The Tablighi were not involved in the largely Islamic insurgency that coalesced in early 2007,[2] and at the time mosque also operated as a religious madrasa for children.

According to numerous witnesses, on Sunday April 20, Ethiopian troops stormed into the al-Hidaya mosque where there were more than 100 people present including many school children.

[3] Sheikh Hussein Ali, one of the clerics present, told BBC Somali that the Ethiopian army had fired at al-Hidaya with a barrage of mortars and then advanced on the mosque with tanks.

[3] The masjid's Imam and most senior leader, Sheikh Said Yahya, opened the mosques door in response to the soldiers knocking, and was killed by the Ethiopians.

[2] 41 children, ranging from ages 9 to 14 years old, were in classes at the mosque during the killing and were detained by ENDF forces for days after at a military base in north Mogadishu.

Insurgent factions such as Al-Shabaab, the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) and the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) publicly condemned the massacre.

Spokesman for the ICU, Sheikh Mohamud Ibrahim Suley, issued a statement condemning both the Ethiopian army and the TFG for defending ENDF actions.