At least 32 killed in Somalia beach attack, police say

Al-Shabaab militants killed at least 32 people in a suicide attack at a popular seaside spot in the Somali capital, a Somali police spokesman said on Saturday.

Abdifatah Adan Hassan said some 63 people were injured, some seriously.

The video showed multiple bodies and injured people in the Abdiaziz district of Mogadishu.

Al-Shabaab, which controls much of southern and central Somalia, is affiliated with al-Qaeda and has been waging a brutal insurgency against the UN-backed government for nearly two decades.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, saying among the victims were “politicians, members of the (security) forces and staff of ministries and offices.”

The group said the death and injury toll was far higher than the figures released by police.

One witness told AFP that people were in a panic because “shooting started soon after the explosion and it was difficult to know what was happening.”

Abdilatif Ali said some tried to hide at Lido Beach while others tried to flee the location.

“I saw injured people along the beach. People were screaming in panic and it was hard to tell who was dead and who was alive,” he added.

Mr. Hassan said at least five people were responsible for the attack, one of the attackers detonated a bomb on his body and three others were shot dead.

A police spokesman told reporters in Mogadishu that one attacker had been captured alive.

Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, described the attack as “horrific”.

Somalia’s Disaster Management Agency has called on people to donate blood to help injured victims.