Islamist attackers massacre 19 diners at beachfront restaurant in Mogadishu
Four of the attackers were shot dead by security forces while one gunman was captured when authorities entered the building to end the attack.
Somalia’s Islamist al-Shabab militants killed at least 19 people when five gunmen detonated a bomb before storming a popular seaside restaurant in the capital Mogadishu, police said on Friday.
“They killed nearly 20 people, including women and children,” Somali police officer Mohamed Abdirahman said, describing it as a “barbaric and brutal attack against innocent civilians”.
The Lido beach area in Mogadishu is busy with restaurants, including upmarket establishments popular with business people and diaspora Somalis who have returned home to the city.
The fact that they have chosen this location during a weekend night shows how merciless the al-Shabab militants are
After a huge explosion, gunmen burst into the restaurant on Thursday evening as diners were sitting down for their evening meal, at the start of Somalia’s weekend.
“The fact that they have chosen this location during a weekend night shows how merciless the al-Shabab militants are,” Abdirahman added. “They wanted to kill more civilians – but the security forces rescued most of the people.”
The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, in which four of their gunmen were also killed, and one captured.
“The mujahideen fighters targeted the Lido Beach,” the militants said on the group’s Radio Andalus, calling it a “major operation against the enemy of Allah”.