At least 32 people were killed and 63 others injured in a beach attack in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu late on Friday, police said on Saturday.
“Over 32 civilians died in the restaurant attack,” police spokesman Abdifatah Aden told a press conference, adding that one attacker had blown himself up while three others had been killed. One attacker was captured, he said.
The attack was blamed by Somali state media on the militant Islamist group al Shabaab.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility by the al-Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, which has claimed similar attacks in the past.
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The explosion occurred while residents were swimming on Lido beach, former prime minister Hassan Ali Khaire said on his X account.
[ Somalia’s fight against Al Shabaab, the group who must not be named ]
“The fact that the terrorist attack coincides with this night when the beach is the most congested shows the hostility of the terrorists to the Somali people,” he said.
Videos posted on X showed bodies lying on the beach in the dark, and people running to safety.
Al Shabab controlled a vast area of Somalia before being pushed back in government counteroffensives since 2022. However, the militants remain capable of launching significant attacks on government, commercial, and military targets.
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