Five people lost their lives in a devastating car bomb explosion late Sunday at a cafe in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, which was crowded with football fans watching the Euro 2024 final, according to local media citing police.
Images circulated online depicted a massive fireball and clouds of smoke billowing into the night sky as the blast tore through the popular restaurant in the city center.
“The car bomb detonated tonight outside Top Coffee Restaurant… placed by Kharijite terrorists,” reported the Somali National News Agency, using the term officials adopt to describe the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab jihadist group.
“Preliminary police reports confirm five fatalities and around 20 injuries,” quoted SONNA police spokesman Major Abdifitah Aden Hassan telling state media.
Somali National Television also reported the bombing, which occurred as young men were watching the Spain vs. England match.
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An AFP journalist reported that firefighters, police, and ambulances had swiftly responded to the explosion scene.
Police have sealed off the area near the presidential palace compound known as Villa Somalia, which was bustling at the time of the bombing.
Al-Shabaab has waged a violent insurgency against Somalia’s fragile federal government for over 17 years, carrying out numerous bombings in Mogadishu and other parts of the country.
While attacks had relatively decreased in recent months due to government offensives against Islamist militants, Saturday saw a resurgence with five Al-Shabaab inmates reportedly killed in a shootout during an attempted prison break in Mogadishu.
Prison officials reported three guards killed and 18 others injured after inmates obtained weapons.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has pledged “all-out” war against jihadists, with government forces collaborating with local clan militias, supported by an African Union force and US airstrikes.
Despite being driven from the capital by AU forces in 2011, Al-Shabaab retains a strong presence in rural Somalia, conducting frequent attacks on political, security, and civilian targets, primarily in Somalia and neighboring Kenya.
Last month, Somalia called for the African Union to slow its planned troop withdrawal, as per UN resolutions aiming for a complete withdrawal of the AU peacekeeping mission (ATMIS) by December 31, with security transitioned to Somali forces.
The AU Peace and Security Council supported a phased approach following Somalia’s request to retain 2,000 troops until September, out of a total 13,500 ATMIS troops.
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