Mogadishu, Aug 3 (EFE).- At least 32 people were killed and 63 were wounded in a Friday night attack in the Somali capital, police have confirmed.
The suicide bomb attack on a hotel on a popular beach in Mogadishu has been claimed by the Islamist fundamentalist group, Al Shabaab.
«In total, there are more than 32 dead and 63 wounded, with minor to life-threatening injuries, according to medical sources,» Somali Police spokesman Abdifatah Hassan Ali told a press conference in Mogadishu on Saturday.
According to Ali, a terrorist detonated explosives at around 10pm local time near a group of young people gathered on the terrace of the Beach View Hotel on Lido Beach, a popular spot for many Mogadishu residents on Friday evenings.
«Following the attack, gunmen also attacked the Beach View Hotel (which is usually frequented by government officials) but security forces managed to quickly rescue the people from their evil intentions,» the police spokesman added.
He explained that the police had killed three militants involved in the attack – apart from the suicide bomber – in the ensuing gun battle that went on for hours after midnight between the attackers and police and army special forces.
Police also arrested another suspected terrorist and prevented him from blowing up a vehicle full of explosives, preventing an even higher death toll.
Mogadishu hospitals and the Somali Disaster Management Agency (Sodma) have appealed for blood donations to treat the wounded.
Images released by Somali media on social media showed ambulances heading to the scene of the attack, as well as dozens of people lying on the beach.
The attack comes after months of relative calm in which security measures had been reinforced in the Somali capital and the city had not suffered the usual attacks by Al Shabaab, which said it had killed several government officials, although EFE could not verify that claim.
Somalia has intensified its military operations against Islamist militants since the country’s president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, announced in August 2022 a «total war» against the terror group.
Since then, the army, supported by the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), has developed offensives, sometimes with the military collaboration of the United States and Turkey in aerial bombardments.
Al Shabaab, affiliated since 2012 to the Al Qaeda network, perpetrates frequent attacks in Mogadishu and other parts of the country in a bid to overthrow the central government – which is backed by the international community – and install an ultra-conservative Islamic state.
The group controls rural areas in central and southern Somalia and also attacks neighboring countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia.
Somalia has lived in a state of conflict and chaos since 1991, when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown, leaving the country without effective government and in the hands of Islamist militias and warlords. EFE
mkm/ks
