At least 32 people were killed and 63 others injured in a suicide-bombing and gun attack on a beach hotel in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.
The responsibility for the attack on Lido Beach late Friday has reportedly been claimed by an al-Qaida affiliate, Al-Shabab. The group, through its radio, announced that its fighters carried out the attack.
Police spokesperson Major Abdifatah Adan Hassan told reporters that of one of the soldiers was among those killed in the attack, adding that the remaining persons were all civilians. Another soldier was also injured in the attack, Hassan added.
Witnesses reported that an explosion was followed by gun attack at the Lido Beach, which as usual, was bustling with people as Somalis were enjoying their weekend.
Mohamud Moalim, one of the witnesses, told The Associated Press, that he saw an attacked wearing an explosive vest moments before he "blew himself up next to the beach-view hotel".
Moalim said that one of his friends, who was at the hotel, was killed and others were injured.
Another witness, Abdisalam Adam, said that he saw many people lying on the group, adding that he had helped in taking some of the wounded people to the hospital.
Militants associated with al-Shabab have targeted the Lido Beach in the past well, with the most recent attack being last year, which left nine persons dead.
Hassan told reporters that security forces had taken down all the attackers at the scene and captured one who was driving a car full of explosives.
Another witness of the terror attack, Abdilatif Ali, told AFP, "Everybody was panicked and it was hard to know what was happening because shooting-started soon after the blast."
Former Prime Miniter Hassan Ali Khaire took to microblogging site X and expressed his deepest condolences to the family and friends of those killed in the attack.
"The fact that the terrorist attack coincides with this night when the beach is the most congested shows the hostility of the terrorists to the Somali people," Khaire added.
Somalian state media reported that its federal government also condemned the attack.
Notably, Al-Shabab has been consistenly carrying out bombings and other attacks in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia, in a bid to topple its central government.
The government is majorly dependent on foreign powers to keep its power intact. It also joined hands with local armed groups to fight against the al-Qaida affiliate in a campaign backed by an African Union Force and United States air raids, Al Jazeera reported.
