Attack on Somalia beach kills 32 civilians

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA:

At least 32 civilians were killed and 63 wounded in an explosion at a popular beach in the Somali capital Mogadishu late on Friday, police said, in an attack that Somali state media blamed on the Islamist group al Shabaab.

It was the deadliest attack in the Horn of Africa nation since two car bombs exploded near a busy market intersection in October 2022, killing at least 100 people and injuring 300 others.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility from al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab, which has carried out similar attacks in the past, including the 2022 car bomb attack.

Police spokesman Abdifatah Aden gave the death toll in Friday night’s blast at a beachfront restaurant.

In addition to the civilians killed, Aden said one of the attackers blew himself up, while three others were killed by security forces. One attacker was captured alive while one soldier was killed during the attack.

State news agency SONNA had earlier reported that five al-Shabaab attackers were killed by security forces while a sixth blew himself up during the attack.

Hassan Farah, a survivor, described the shock as the explosion shattered a quiet evening.

“I was in the restaurant drinking coffee and having a good chat with friends when I saw a big man running, in a second there was something like lightning and a huge explosion,” he told Reuters.

Nigeria’s police may seek the help of the military after protests turned violent in some cities.

“We were covered in smoke. Inside and outside the restaurant many people were lying on the floor while others were bleeding and crying.”

Videos posted on X showed bodies lying on the beach in the dark and people running to safety.

Al Shabaab controlled a huge swath of Somalia before being pushed back by government counter-offensives from 2022. However, the militants remain capable of launching significant attacks on government, commercial and military targets.

“The fact that the terrorist attack coincides with this night, when the beach is the most crowded, shows the hostility of the terrorists towards the people of Somalia,” former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire said on X’s account.