At least 3 killed as Somali extremists attack restaurant

Thomson ReutersA member of Somalia’s al Shabaab rebel group walks with a machine gun after attending Eid al-Adha prayers north of MogadishuIslamist gunmen stormed a popular beachside restaurant in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday, setting off two auto bombs and battling government soldiers trying to flush them out. At least 15 people were killed in that attack, officials said.

The first vehicle bomb went off in the early evening, followed soon after by as many as five gunmen approaching from the beach.

Lido Beach, one of the alleged targets, on the northern edge of Mogadishu attracts a vast number of young Somalis, and several restaurants have opened up along the beach front in recent years. It wasn’t immediately clear if any senior officials were trapped in the restaurant.

The Lido beach area in Mogadishu is popular with businesspeople and diaspora Somalis who have returned home to the city.

“The operation (to overpower the attackers) is ongoing now”.

He said he had counted at least three bodies outside the restaurant.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The Shebab, who are fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu, carry out regular attacks in the capital.

Last week, Al-Shabaab militants staged a deadly attack on an African Union base in southwestern Somalia. The al-Qaida-linked group said it had killed about 100 Kenyans, but the Kenyan government has given no death toll.