A suicide auto bomber rammed the gates of a restaurant near a beach in Somalia’s capital before gunmen fought their way into the building in an attack that killed at least three people on Thursday, a police official said.
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The security forces took control of the restaurant just before dawn, said Capt. Mohamed Hussein, speaking from the scene of the attack in Mogadishu.
Al Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, in which four of their gunmen were also killed, and one captured. Survivors described the gunmen spraying those in the restaurant with automatic weapons. The militants indiscriminately fired on the diners and detonated two vehicle bombs at the entrance of the restaurant.
On a normal Friday, the beach would be packed with hundreds of people surfing, swimming and strolling along the white sand.
Last week, Al-Shabaab attacked Kenyan peacekeeping forces in Somalia.
Witnesses said the gunmen shouted “Allahu akbar”, the Arabic phrase for “God is great”, and entered the restaurant, AP reported.
“These barbaric attacks carried out by the terrorists Al- Shabaab” are aimed at undermining Somalia’s socio-economic development, Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke said in an e-mailed statement condemning the assault.
Al Shabaab, who are fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu, regularly carry out attacks in the capital.
Al Shabaab, which is aligned with al Qaeda, said its fighters killed more than 100 Kenyan soldiers when they overrun the base in Ceel Cadde, near the Kenyan border, on Jan.15.
This was not the first time that the group has targeted popular restaurants in Mogadishu.
The group was ousted from Mogadishu some five years ago now, when the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) embarked on a peacekeeping mission.
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“The United Kingdom stands in sorrow with Kenya, the Kenyan Defence Forces and the families of the courageous troops killed or injured at El Adde”, said Hailey.
