At least 32 people were killed and several others injured after a suicide bomber and gunmen targeted a popular beachfront location in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, a police spokesman said on Saturday.
Abdifatah Adan Hassan reported that around 63 people were wounded, some critically. Video footage from Mogadishu’s Abdiaziz district showed bodies and injured people at the scene.
Local media identified the attackers as al-Shabab militants, a group affiliated with al-Qaeda that controls large parts of southern and central Somalia and has waged a brutal insurgency against the UN-backed government for nearly 20 years.
Eyewitness Abdilatif Ali described the chaos, stating, “It was hard to know what was happening because shooting started soon after the blast.” He saw wounded people at the beachside and said it was difficult to distinguish between the dead and the living amid the panic.
Police spokesman Hassan confirmed that at least five attackers were involved: one blew himself up, three were killed, and one was captured alive.
Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the African Union Commission, condemned the attack as “horrific” and “callous,” offering condolences to those who lost loved ones in the attack at Liido Beach.
Abdulkhaliq Osman from Kalkaal Hospital reported that several people were receiving care, with 11 transferred to the operations unit due to critical injuries, while others with minor injuries were discharged after treatment.
