Mogadishu, 4 August 2024 (TDI): At least 32 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a suicide attack at a beach restaurant in Mogadishu, Somalia on Friday.
Six members of the Somali terrorist group Al-Shabab targeted the restaurant at the Beach View Hotel exploding a suicide bomb, according to local media reports. Five attackers were killed. The fate of the sixth terrorist remained unknown.
Video from the attack site after the explosion shows civilians surrounding an ambulance. People sit around on the ground, with an area appearing blackened.
Hassan Farah, a survivor of the attack, told media that he was sitting in the restaurant with his friends when the attack occurred.
He said that there was something like lightning and a huge explosion. The area was covered with smoke. Inside and outside the restaurant, many people were lying on the floor while others were bleeding and crying.
Wounded victims were rushed to hospitals across the city.
At least 32 people have been killed and many more wounded in a suicide bombing and gun attack on a popular beach in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, according to officials https://t.co/eWtCOLMXJJ pic.twitter.com/AOrfsGMODY
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) August 3, 2024
Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack, stating they were targeting Somali officials and officers, the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks online activity of extremist organizations, said in a statement.
The militant group has claimed numerous attacks and operates with the objective of toppling the central Somali government and establishing a rule based on its strict interpretation of Sharia law.
Al-Shabab is the largest and most kinetically active al-Qaeda network in the world, the US Africa Command said in 2023. It was designated as a terrorist group by the United States in 2008, and by a UN Security Council committee in 2010.
Last year, it launched a deadly attack on an African Union (AU) military base in Somalia, killing about 54 Ugandan soldiers, according to Ugandan officials.
After Friday’s attack, the Mayor of Mogadishu, Yusuf Hussein Jim ale, offered prayers for a speedy recovery for those wounded and wished paradise for those who lost their lives.
The government of Ba nadir Region, where the capital city Mogadishu is located, will support and help the Somali community during this difficult time, it said.
