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An al-Shabaab suicide bomber and gunmen attacked Lido Beach in Mogadishu, killing 32 people and wounding 63 in one of the deadliest attacks in months.
An al-Shabaab suicide bomber and gunmen attacked a busy beach in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killing 32 people and wounding dozens in one of the deadliest attacks in months, police said on Saturday.
Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists, who have been waging a 17-year insurgency against the internationally backed federal government, have previously targeted the Lido Beach area, popular with businessmen and officials.
Immediately after the attack, unverified videos circulated online showing people scattered in the streets, and some purportedly showing bloody bodies lying on the beach.
“The attack killed more than 32 civilians and injured about 63 people, some of them seriously,” police spokesman Abdifatah Adan Hassan told reporters at a news conference.
“The targeting and bombing to kill 32 civilians means that these Khawarij factions do not only target government centers, soldiers and officials,” he said, using a term used by Somali officials to describe al-Shabaab.
Police and witnesses told AFP the attack took place late on Friday when a suicide bomber detonated a device before gunmen stormed the area. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility in a post on a pro-Shabab website.
Police officer Mohammed Omar told AFP they were “shooting civilians randomly”.
He said security forces had ended the attack and killed five gunmen, while a sixth member of the group “detonated a bomb on the beach.”
Witnesses said a large crowd had gathered at the popular spot when the blast occurred and described how the gunmen then stormed the area.
– Lido Beach attack –
“Everyone was in panic and it was difficult to know what was happening because the shooting started soon after the blast,” witness Abdullatif Ali told AFP.
He said people tried to take cover on the ground or run away.
“I saw many people lying on the ground, some dead and some injured,” he said.
Ahmed Yare witnessed the entire attack from a nearby hotel.
“I saw injured people by the beach. People were screaming in panic and it was hard to tell who was dead and who was alive,” he told AFP.
Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for a number of bombings and attacks in Mogadishu and other parts of the country, as the government continues its offensive against the Islamist militants.
The Lido area has been the subject of several attacks, including a six-hour siege by al-Shabaab on a beachfront hotel in 2023 that left six civilians dead and 10 injured.
Last month, a powerful car bomb blast at a cafe in the capital killed five people.
In March, a lull in fighting was shattered when militants launched an hours-long siege on another Mogadishu hotel, killing three people and injuring 27.
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