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| Somalia: Gun and bomb attacks at Lido beach in Mogadishu | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Popular beachfront restaurants have been hit by car bombs and gunmen in the Somali capital Mogadishu. | Popular beachfront restaurants have been hit by car bombs and gunmen in the Somali capital Mogadishu. |
| The first car bomb went off in the early evening, followed soon after by as many as five gunmen approaching from the beach. A second car bomb went off half an hour later, BBC Somali reports. | The first car bomb went off in the early evening, followed soon after by as many as five gunmen approaching from the beach. A second car bomb went off half an hour later, BBC Somali reports. |
| One report said at least three people had died. The toll is feared to rise. | |
| Al-Shabab said it was behind the attack and its fighters were still in one of the cafes. | |
| The Somali Prime Minister, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, condemned the attack as "barbaric". | The Somali Prime Minister, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, condemned the attack as "barbaric". |
| There are varying reports about how the attack started but it appears that as the first car bomb went off, at around 19:30 local time (16:30 GMT), the gunmen stormed the area. | |
| The Beach View and Lido Sea Food restaurants were targeted, Abdirahman Koronto from the BBC's Somali service reports. | |
| A police officer at the scene told Reuters news agency the gunmen were "still inside" one of the restaurants. "We cannot know the number of casualties inside," Major Farah Abdulle said. | A police officer at the scene told Reuters news agency the gunmen were "still inside" one of the restaurants. "We cannot know the number of casualties inside," Major Farah Abdulle said. |
| Al-Shabab spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told Reuters: "We are inside and control the cafe. There are many casualties lying inside and outside the cafe." | |
| At the scene: Ali-Bashe Abdullahi Abdi, director of Mustakbal Radio, Mogadishu | |
| After the evening prayer, I went to Lido beach, in particular Beach View restaurant. When I was there about 30 minutes, and I was spending time with my friends including journalists, we saw bullets raining on us. | |
| A good number of people were seated around me, there was a wedding ceremony at the hall of the restaurant. We started running towards the door, but before I reached we heard a loud explosion. | |
| I saw some people jumping from second floor. Bullets were flying all over the place, and there was another explosion. Then everyone got confused. I personally saw three wounded people. I did not see those who have been harmed by the explosions. I think the car was parked near the main door of the restaurant. | |
| Lido Beach, on the northern edge of Mogadishu, attracts thousands of mostly young Somalis looking to relax and enjoy the beach and the surf. | Lido Beach, on the northern edge of Mogadishu, attracts thousands of mostly young Somalis looking to relax and enjoy the beach and the surf. |
| Several restaurants have opened up along the beach front in recent years, and people would have been sitting out in front of them when the attacks began. | Several restaurants have opened up along the beach front in recent years, and people would have been sitting out in front of them when the attacks began. |
| Al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaeda, has carried out similar attacks in the past. The group was ousted from Mogadishu in August 2011, but still has a presence in large areas of southern Somalia and frequently targets the capital. | |
| The group stormed an African Union military base last week in southern Somalia, killing dozens of Kenyan troops. |