Extremist militants have killed some 20 people in an attack on popular beachfront restaurants in the Somali capital Mogadishu, the security ministry has reported.
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No information on casualties was immediately available.
There are varying reports about how the attacks started but it appears that as the first vehicle bomb went off, the gunmen stormed the area.
Police captain Mohamed Hussein was quoted by AP at the scene of the attack as saying that security forces took control of the restaurant shortly before dawn on January 22.
South Africa stood with the African Union and the worldwide community in condemning the attacks that killed innocent civilians, spokesperson Nelson Kgwete said in a statement.
The militant Islamist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility.
Two explosions followed by gunfire hit the entrance of the Beach View Cafe and Lido Sea Food restaurant on the popular Lido beach, witnesses said.
“More and more security forces are now going into the restaurant”.
“After the blast, I saw at least four armed men run into the hotel, shooting everyone inside and around the hotel”, Mustafa Elmi, a witness told DPA news agency.
Security forces were able to rescue many of those who were trapped inside the building. The Kenyan government has given no death toll, but said there were some fatalities.
After a huge explosion, gunmen burst into the restaurant yesterday evening (Jan 21) as diners were sitting down for their evening meal.
“They shot and killed indiscriminately”.
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Kenya has said that the bombs used by insurgents at the base were three times more powerful than that used in the 1998 U.S. embassy attack in Nairobi, which killed 224 people.
