At least 32 killed after suicide bombers target beach restaurant in Somali capital
Six members of the Somali militant group al-Shabaab targeted the restaurant at the Beach View Hotel using a suicide bomb, according to SONNA. Five attackers were killed, SONNA reported. It is unclear what happened to the sixth.
Video from the attack site the morning after the blast shows civilians surrounding an ambulance. People sit around on the sand, with an area of the ground appearing blackened.
Hassan Farah, a survivor of the attack, told Reuters that he was sitting in the restaurant with his friends when it happened.
“In a second there was something like lightning and a huge blast,” he said. “We were covered with smoke. Inside and outside the restaurant, many people were lying on the floor while others were bleeding and crying.”
Injured victims were rushed to hospitals across the city, according to SONNA. Members of the public showed up in “overwhelming numbers” to give blood following an urgent call for donations, it said.
Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they were targeting Somali officials and officers, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks online activity of extremist organizations.
The Islamist militant group has claimed numerous attacks and operates with the aim of toppling the central Somali government and establishing a rule based on its strict interpretation of Sharia law.
Al-Shabaab is the “largest and most kinetically active al-Qaeda network in the world,” the US Africa Command said last year. It was designated as a terrorist group by the US in 2008, and by a UN Security Council committee in 2010.
Last year, it launched a deadly attack on an African Union military base in Somalia, killing at least 54 Ugandan soldiers, according to Ugandan officials.
After Friday’s attack, the Mayor of Mogadishu, Yusuf Hussein Jimale, offered “prayers for a speedy recovery for those injured and wished paradise for those who lost their lives,” SONNA said.
The government of Banadir Region, where Mogadishu is located, will “support and assist the Somali community during this difficult time,” the state media outlet reported.
This story has been updated with additional information.
The Beach View Hotel in Mogadishu, Africa, was the site of a tragic attack by al-Shabaab last year, as the US Africa Command declared. Events like these highlight the global impact of extremist organizations.
Despite being based in Africa, al-Shabaab has a significant influence on the world stage, being labeled as the largest and most active al-Qaeda network globally.
