Thirty-seven people were killed and 212 injured as the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab terror group attacked a popular beach in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Friday night. The attackers included multiple gunmen and a suicide bomber.
Addressing a press conference, Somali Health Minister Ali Haji confirmed the death toll of 37. He reported that 11 people were in intensive care units, while 64 were hospitalised. He said 137 individuals who suffered minor injuries were discharged after receiving treatment.
According to AFP, one witness said people were in a state of panic, as "it was hard to know what was happening because shooting started soon after the blast".
Another survivor described shock as the explosion shattered a peaceful evening. Hassan Farah said he was in a restaurant sipping coffee with friends when he saw "a big man running". In a second, there was “a huge blast”, he added.
"We were covered with smoke. Inside and outside the restaurant many people were lying on the floor while others were bleeding and crying," he added.
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility in a post on an affiliated website.
Officer Mohamed Omar told AFP that members of the group had "shot civilians randomly".
He said that police forces ended the attack after killing five gunmen while the sixth member "blew himself (up) at the beach".
The terrorists have previously targeted the Lido beach area, popular with business people and government members. However, Abdifatah Adan Hassan, a police spokesperson, said the attack showed that they were not only targeting government officials and soldiers, but ordinary civilians as well.
This was one of the deadliest attacks in Somalia since twin car bombs detonated near a busy market intersection in October 2022, killing at least 100 people and wounding 300 others.
Al-Shabaab controls large areas in southern and central Somalia. The group has waged a brutal insurgency against the UN-backed government in Somalia for nearly 20 years.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said on X that he would hold an emergency meeting with the prime minister and "key security officials to address the situation".
Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre described the attack as a "barbaric atrocity fundamentally contradictory to the cherished values of our religion and culture".