Islamist Gunmen Kill 17 in Attack on Beach Restaurant in Somalia

Two car bombs exploded at different times on the same beach killing 17 people in a Somalia beach.

At least 17 people were killed when Islamist gunmen struck a popular beachside restaurant in the Somali capital of Mogadishu late on Thursday, local police said.

Al Shabaab, a militant group aligned with the al Qaeda, said its members set off two car bombs at the Beach View Cafe on Mogadishu’s popular Lido beach.

We are inside and control the cafe. There are many casualties lying inside and outside the cafe.

Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military operation spokesman said during the attack

Police said al Shabaab fighters set off the first car bomb at dusk. A huge second blast, which witnesses said echoed around the city centre, struck about an hour later as government soldiers laid siege to the restaurant.

The militants engaged in a gun battle for hours with government troops trying to flush them out. Police officer Osman Nur said the operation ended at 3 am Thursday night.

Al Shabaab wants to topple the Western-backed government in Mogadishu and impose a strict version of Islamic law across Somalia, a nation racked by conflict since the outbreak of civil war in 1991.