Mogadishu: Somalia’s sea turned blood red when suddenly people gathered on a beach started getting shot at. Al-Shabab suicide bombers and gunmen attacked a busy beach in the Somali capital Mogadishu, killing 32 people and injuring many. Police said on Saturday that this is one of the deadliest attacks in the last few months.
Let us tell you that jihadists linked to al-Qaeda have been waging an insurgency against the internationally backed federal government for more than 17 years and have previously targeted the Lido beach area, popular among business people and officials. Unverified videos shared online soon after the attack show people scattering on the street, with several clips showing blood-soaked bodies lying on the beach.
Security forces surrounded
It is being told that bombs and firing took place in a hotel near the beach in the capital Mogadishu. After getting the information, security forces surrounded the spot. Officials and eyewitnesses gave this information. The country’s official ‘Somali National News Agency’ said that the security forces “killed the attackers.” Al-Qaeda’s East Africa affiliate Al-Shabab took responsibility for the attack through its radio and said that its fighters attacked the hotel. Lido beach, a popular area of Mogadishu, was very busy on Friday night, as Somalis come here to roam on weekends.
Many eyewitnesses saw the attackers
An eyewitness, Mohammad Moalim, told on the phone that he saw an attacker wearing a jacket loaded with explosives, and shortly after that he blew himself up near the hotel. Moalim said that some of his associates present with him in the hotel were also killed and others were injured. Another witness, Abdisalam Adam, told The Associated Press that he saw several people lying unconscious on the ground and helped take some of the injured to hospital. The Lido beach has been targeted by al-Shabab-linked militants in the past, including last year’s attack in which nine people were killed. So far, 32 people have been confirmed dead in this attack.
