After the attack on the Kenyan military base, al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabaab claimed to have killed more than 63 soldiers.
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Abdiqani Guled described being one of the lucky few who were able to hide from the extremists until safely being escorted out of the restaurant the next morning by security forces.
The security forces took control of the restaurant just before dawn, ending the siege Hussein stated.
The Somali Prime Minister, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, condemned the attack and tweeted “I unreservedly condemn the barbaric attack @ Lido”.
“The first vehicle exploded in front of the gate adjacent to the street as a number of heavily armed attackers made way to the restaurant from the seaside”. Every room were been checked by the security forces and they were going through neighboring houses, he said.
Al-Shabab’s latest attack targeted The Beach View, a popular beachfront hotel, and the Lido restaurant.
The fatalities included six attackers, police representative Ahmed Aloley said.
In the attack, four of their gunmen were killed, and one captured.
The Lido beach area in Mogadishu is full of restaurants, including upmarket establishments popular with business people and diaspora Somalis who have returned home to the city. The group has carried out frequent assaults on Mogadishu. “My thoughts are with the people at this beach of Mogadishu”.
When the shooting started, Mohamed Dhaaley ran for his life, but stopped after hearing a voice cry: “Please, don’t leave me”, he told the BBC. “Those who were fighting inside were killed by the soldiers”.
At least 20 people were killed and more than a dozen were wounded at a beachside restaurant and hotel in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.
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Al-Shabab said it was behind the attack. It wasn’t immediately clear if any senior officials were trapped in the restaurant.
