Aug. 3 (EUROPA PRESS) –
At least 15 people have been killed and 140 injured in an attack carried out by members of the jihadist organisation Al Shabaab on Lido beach, one of the most popular places for tourists and diplomats in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and the scene in recent years of some of the group’s bloodiest attacks.
The attack began at around 7.30pm on Friday when one of the attackers blew himself up in front of the Beach View hotel, in the middle of a crowd, before five other jihadists began to open fire indiscriminately on the hotel guests.
Minutes later, jihadists and Somali security forces began a shootout at the hotel that lasted until after midnight, resulting in the deaths of all the attackers, security sources confirmed to the official Somali news agency SONNA.
Police have also confirmed the deactivation of a car bomb parked near the site of the attack, according to a government statement reported by the Caasimada On Line website.
Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement issued by its affiliated media, the news portal Hiraan On Line reports.
Somalia has in recent months stepped up offensives against Al Shabaab with the support of clans and local militias as part of a series of decisions taken by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who promised upon taking office in May 2022 to put the fight against terrorism at the heart of his efforts to stabilise the African country.
However, attacks on government institutions and hotels and restaurants continue to occur in Mogadishu, where Islamists believe a Western way of life prevails. In July, 11 people were killed in a terrorist attack on a restaurant during the European Football Championship final.
Al Shabaab’s attacks on Lido beach are almost cyclical. A suicide car bombing and a shooting attack killed more than 20 people in January 2016. Four years later, another similar attack left at least eleven dead. In 2023, Al Shabaab killed six civilians and three soldiers in the same location in the capital.
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