Those attacks have led to dramatic changes near AMISOM checkpoints and bases. Barriers that used to be nothing more than tree trunks or branches stretched across the road are now made of concrete and steel.

Security checks along al-Mukarama Road are reminiscent of checks conducted in cities like Baghdad and Kabul. AU troops, with rifles at the ready, watch behind concrete barriers and sandbags as government troops hand-search each car passing through.

In a sign that suicide bombings have become a constant threat, especially to the government, Somalia's first metal detector has been installed in Villa Somalia.

On December 3, a suicide bomber detonated his vest during a graduation ceremony for medical students being held at Shamo Hotel, near Kilometer Four. Three government ministers, nine students, two journalists, and a doctor were killed in the blast. Scores more were wounded.

Somalia has a long history of observing a moderate form of Islam, and suicide bombings were unheard of here before 2006.

A leading civil society leader in Mogadishu, Abdullahi Mohamed Shirwa, says while militants are making progress in spreading their ideology among poor young men in Somalia, the vast majority of ordinary Somalis are deeply against a religious doctrine that strives to control people through fear, violence and intimidation.

"People are fed up and even sometimes, they are resisting the insurgents. But they have intelligence networks among the people. Can you imagine your friend or your cousin or your boy has [been] recruited secretly and he is ready to explode your home? It is a terrible thing that affect badly the public's psychology," said Shirwa. "They are very scared about coming [to] meetings, seminars, workshops, especially if the event takes place in hotels. They say, 'No, we do not want to come together because we do not know what will happen. Maybe my friend is an enemy.' So, it has actually created a very bad atmosphere. People, they are afraid to the maximum."