MOGADISHU: An Al Shabaab suicide bomber and gunmen attacked a busy beach in the Somali capital Mogadishu killing 37 people and wounding scores more, officials said on Saturday, in one of the deadliest strikes in the East African country in months.
The Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab have been waging an insurgency against the internationally backed federal government for more than 17 years and have previously targeted the Lido beach area, popular with business people and government members.
Survivors of Friday’s assault described how following the blast gunmen stormed onto the beach intending to “kill everyone they could”, with graphic video shared online immediately after showing bloodied bodies on the sand.
“The overall number of the dead people we confirmed is 37,” Somali Health Minister Ali Haji Adam said in a press statement. Eleven people are in intensive care units, a further 64 people remain in hospital with wounds, while 137 people with light injuries had been discharged after receiving treatment, he said.
The assault, for which Al Shabaab claimed responsibility in a post on a pro-Shabaab website, began late on Friday when a suicide bomber detonated a device and gunmen stormed the area.
Officer Mohamed Omar said that members of the group had “shot civilians randomly”. He said security forces had ended the attack and killed five gunmen, while a sixth member of the group “blew himself (up) at the beach”.
Police spokesperson Abdifatah Adan Hassan said the attack demonstrated the group was not only targeting government officials and soldiers, but ordinary civilians as well.
Witnesses said there were many people at the popular location when the explosion occurred, describing how gunmen then stormed the area.
Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2024