An ambulance is seen on the beach after an attack in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Saturday.
Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP
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Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP
At least 32 people have been killed and 63 others wounded in an attack that included a suicide bombing and gun battle in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, police said.
The attack that began late Friday took place near a hotel on Lido Beach, a popular gathering spot for Mogadishu residents. A police spokesman said one soldier was killed and the rest of the dead and injured were civilians.
The Islamist extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack. Three militants died in a gun battle with law enforcement while one was captured alive, police said.
A woman reacts as she walks down the street as smoke rises from a car packed with explosives that was defused by Somali police in Mogadishu on Saturday.
Hassan Ali Elmi/AFP via Getty Images
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Hassan Ali Elmi/AFP via Getty Images
On Saturday morning, another roadside bomb exploded 25 miles from the capital, killing seven more people and wounding four others.
The country has been under attack by al-Shabab for years. Just last month, al-Shabab fighters attempted to overrun three military bases in southern Somalia, leading to bloody clashes between the group and Somali forces, Reuters reported.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and other federal agencies met on Saturday to discuss strategies to improve security in the capital, state media reported.
Relatives carry the body of a woman killed in an attack in Mogadishu.
Hassan Ali Elmi/AFP via Getty Images
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Hassan Ali Elmi/AFP via Getty Images
“The government is determined to destroy this bloody group,” Mohamud said.
Government officials also visited local hospitals to meet with victims, state media reported.
According to National Counterterrorism Centeral-Shabab’s goal is to overthrow Somalia’s federal government and drive foreign forces from the country. Another goal of the group, which is linked to al-Qaeda, is to establish a fundamentalist Islamic state, the center said.
Al-Shabab rise in response to two decades of chaos in Somalia following the overthrow of the country’s military dictatorship. The group attempted to take over southern Somalia in 2006 but was later defeated by Somali and Ethiopian forces.
Al-Shabab has remained a dangerous presence in large parts of the country for years, carrying out a number of deadly bombings in Somalia and neighboring Kenya. Hotels, restaurants and military bases, as well as Somalia’s capital, have all been common targets.
Last year, President Mohamud pledged an “all-out war” against the militants, Related Press reported. Global Terrorism Index ranked Al-Shabab was the fourth most dangerous terrorist group in 2023 after carrying out 227 attacks and 499 deaths caused by its militants.
Ish Mafundikwa from Harare contributed reporting.
