by Nurat Uthman
At least seven people were killed and six others injured on Thursday when a suicide bomber detonated explosives inside a restaurant in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, local police confirmed in a statement.
The targeted restaurant, located opposite a police training station, was a popular spot for police officers, according to a security source.
According to police, both officers and civilians were among the victims, who had been drinking tea outside the General Kaahiye Police Academy on Thursday.
“The explosion occurred under trees where residents of the area spend time to rest,” a police statement said.
“My cousin and four of his colleagues died in the blast. We are rushing to the scene to take his body,” Hassan Osman, a relative of one of the victims, told Reuters.
Al-Shabab, the armed group linked to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack. The group frequently targets military and state institutions in its efforts to overthrow Somalia’s government, which has launched an ongoing offensive against it.
