Relatives carry away a dead body from the beach following an overnight attack on a beachfront restaurant in Mogadishu, Somalia, Jan. 22, 2016.
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The situation became contained after an eight hour stand-off between local security forces and militants, in which Somali special forces went from room to room pursuing the al-Shabaab gunmen, who were holed up inside the restaurant.
After a huge explosion, five gunmen burst into the restaurant on Thursday evening as diners were sitting down for their evening meal. “People are fleeing towards the countryside and other towns for safety”, said Abdullahi Ali, a shop owner in the village.
“The second vehicle bomb has just exploded and the fighters are still inside”, said Major Farah Abdulle, a police officer at the scene.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has expressed condolences to victims of the recent attack by al-Shabab militants on a Kenyan military installation in Somalia.
And last fall, the Islamist militant group claimed responsibility for blasts and gunfire at Mogadishu’s popular Sahafi Hotel.
It was not immediately clear how many people were killed and injured in the attack.
The Lido beach area is home to several restaurants, which are usually full on Thursday nights – the start of the weekend in Somalia. The beach front restaurants are also very popular with government officials, aid workers and foreign visitors. Then everyone got confused. An unknown number of people are still trapped inside the restaurant, he said. I think the auto was parked near the main door of the restaurant.
Lido Beach, on the northern edge of Mogadishu, attracts thousands of mostly young Somalis looking to relax and enjoy the beach and the surf.
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Last week an African Union peacekeeping (AMISOM) base was attacked by Al-Shabab leaving over 61 Kenyan forces dead and 31 hostages.
