Al-Shabab attack on restaurant kills at least 19 in Somalia

“We heard a heavy explosion followed by gunfire”, said Mohamed Somow, an eyewitness who hid in a toilet in the restaurant when the attack started.

Al-Shabab group reportedly claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack that began after two vehicle bombs exploded about an hour apart.

Police in Somalia say Islamist militants killed at least 19 people in a January 21 gun-and-bomb attack on a popular beachfront restaurant in the capital, Mogadishu.

Al-Shabaab militants opened fire on diners at a popular restaurant in Mogadishu, with eight gunmen among those killed.

“Lido beach in Mogadishu is more than just a relaxation spot, it’s a symbol of what peace in Somalia might look like”.

The attack started about 7:30 p.m. local time when a auto rammed the gate of the Liido Seafood Restaurant overlooking a Mogadishu beach, said Col. Abdulkadir Mohammed, a senior police officer.

Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, Somali Prime Minister condemned the attack via Twitter: “I unreservedly condemn the barbaric attack…” The al-Qaida-linked group said it had killed about 100 Kenyans, but the Kenyan government has given no death toll.

Al Shabaab, which wants to impose a strict version of Islamic law in Somalia, said it has not lost any fighters since Friday’s attack.

Those who survived described how the gunmen sprayed those in the restaurant with automatic weapons.

MOGADISHU-Twenty people have been killed in a deadly siege laid to seafood and beach view restaurants overlooking the Indian Ocean in volatile Mogadishu on Thursday evening, Garowe Online reports.

Al-Shabab said it was behind the attack.

“The United Kingdom stands in sorrow with Kenya, the Kenyan Defence Forces and the families of the fearless troops killed or injured at El Adde”, said Hailey.

But al-Shabab has retaliated, killing scores of Kenyans in terrorist attacks inside Kenya – including in 2013 at Nairobi’s Westgate Shopping Mall.