Late on Friday night, an explosion occurred on a well-known beach in the capital city of Somalia, Mogadishu, killing at least 32 civilians and injuring 63 others, according to authorities. The attack was attributed by Somali state media to the extremist Islamist organization al Shabaab.
Since twin vehicle bombs exploded close to a major market crossroads in October 2022, killing at least 100 people and injuring 300 more, it was the deadliest incident to occur in the country of the Horn of Africa.
The al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab, which has claimed responsibility for similar operations in the past, including the vehicle bomb attack in 2022, did not immediately claim responsibility.
The number of fatalities from the explosion at a seaside restaurant on Friday night was released by police spokeswoman Abdifatah Aden.
Aden said that three assailants had been slain by security forces and that one of the attackers had blown himself up in addition to the civilian casualties. During the assault, one soldier was killed and one attacker was captured alive.
Six al Shabaab attackers blew oneself up during the attack, according to a statement made earlier by state news agency SONNA, while five assailants were slain by security personnel.
A survivor named Hassan Farah described the horror of seeing a calm evening destroyed by an explosion.
He told Reuters, “I was in the restaurant enjoying some coffee and a nice conversation with friends when I saw a big man running. There was something like lightning and a huge blast in a second.”
The smoke enveloped us. Many individuals were laying on the floor both inside and outside the restaurant, and some of them were crying and bleeding.
Videos that were uploaded on X showed individuals racing to safety while bodies lay on the beach in the dark.
After taking over a sizable portion of Somalia, Al Shabaab was forced back by government counteroffensives that started in 2022. The militants can still, however, carry out significant assaults on military, commercial, and governmental objectives.
Former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire posted on his X account, saying, “The terrorists’ animosity toward the Somali people is demonstrated by the fact that this night, when the beach is busiest, also happens to be the date of the terrorist attack.”