Somalia: Nine people killed in assault by al-Shabaab in Somali capital Mogadishu
By Ahmad Hadizat Omayoza, Mamos Nigeria
According to police, an al-Shabaab Islamist attack on a high-end restaurant in the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, on Friday night claimed the lives of nine people.
Police said in a statement that six civilians and three soldiers were killed at the popular Pearl restaurant.
Furthermore, Abdikadir Abdirahman, the overseer of Aamin ambulance vehicle administration, said his group had conveyed 20 injured individuals from the scene.
According to the police, 84 civilians were rescued by security forces, but the attackers’ fate was unknown.
“Security forces have successfully neutralized the al-Shabaab militants responsible for the terrorist attack on the Pearl Beach hotel in Lido beach, Mogadishu,” the Somali National news agency stated on Twitter.
Broken window panes and restaurant debris were scattered across the blood-stained street on Saturday.
Hussein Mohamed, a waiter at another nearby restaurant, claimed that the attack started when he heard gunfire and a blast.
He stated, “The entire area is cordoned off by security forces.”
Al-Shabaab, which has ties to Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack. The group stated, “The mujahideen managed to enter Pearl Beach and are still completely in control.”
Nine people were killed in an attack on another hotel in Mogadishu in November by the group, which controls large portions of the country.
Al-Shabaab controlled an immense area of Somalia prior to being pushed back in government counteroffensives since the year before. Nonetheless, the aggressors stay fit for sending off huge assaults on government, business and military targets.
54 Ugandan peacekeepers were killed when its fighters attacked a base 80 miles (130 kilometers) south-west of Mogadishu at the end of May.
