A horrendous bombing in Africa has killed at least 32 people. The blast wounded scores of others.
Terrorists from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated organization Al-Shabaab attacked a prominent Somalian tourist resort. Late on Friday, as swimmers at Mogadishu’s famous Lido Beach were enjoying themselves, the explosion went off.
As rescue workers raced to the scene, horrific footage and images emerged from the shore showing victims lying on the beach.
Five gunmen were identified by security personnel, according to local police spokesman Abdifatah Adan Hassan. During a subsequent news conference, he stated that more than 32 civilians died in the attack, and about 63 others were wounded, some critically.
According to the police, three of the assailants were killed by security personnel, and one of them blew himself up. Other reports state that the police killed four of the assailants and captured the fifth one alive.
A shocked eyewitness, Abdilatif Ali, said that everyone panicked, and it was hard to know what was happening because the “shooting started soon after the blast.” He saw wounded people by the beachside, with people screaming in panic.
Another witness from a neighboring hotel said it was hard to tell who was dead and who was alive. According to Mohamud Moalim, he noticed that one of the assailants was wearing an explosive vest right before he “blew himself up next to the beach-view hotel.”
Officials from the police force, according to Mohamed Omar, shot at random, leading to the belief that some of the victims could be the result of friendly fire.
Similar assaults in the region have been claimed by the Islamic extremist terror group Al-Shabaab.
Before local and international forces were able to drive Al-Shabaab out of Somalia, they controlled vast swaths of the country, including the capital. According to Hassan Ali Khaire, a former prime minister of Somalia, the fact that the terrorist attack occurred on a day when the beach was the most crowded shows the hostility of the terrorists toward the Somali people.
Terrorists have previously attacked Lido Beach, a popular destination for both residents and visitors.
In 2023, the terror group launched a six-hour siege at another nearby coastal hotel, injuring ten and killing six.
Earlier this month, a café in the nation’s capital was the target of a vehicle bombing.
In March, militants from Al-Shabaab carried out another hotel assault, killing three and injuring twenty-seven.
