“Nine people including two Shabaab gunmen were killed in the attack” on Thursday, Mogadishu city spokesman Abdifatah Halane told AFP. Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab jihadists attacked the Banadir Beach Restaurant close to the city’s Lido Beach, setting off a car bomb before exchanging fire with security forces.
The assailants also threw grenades at the security services who cordoned off the area. One man with a head wound was detained by the authorities which accused him of being the bomber.
The restaurant is popular with young people and government officials. Around 20 people managed to escape from the restaurant during the gunfight.
The Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement distributed via the Telegram messaging service, claiming to have killed “scores” of people. It said the restaurant was targeted because it was frequented by “apostates” indulging in “obscenity and vice.”
The Shabaab is fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu, seeking to impose an austere Islamic rule. — AFP