A automotive bomb exploded exterior a preferred cafe full of soccer followers within the Somali capital Mogadishu, killing a number of folks.
The bomb exploded at 22:28 native time on Sunday evening as Prime Espresso clients have been watching the Euro 2024 soccer remaining between Spain and England.
Police stated the explosion killed no less than 5 folks and injured 20 others. Safety sources later informed AFP the dying toll had risen to 9.
The jihadist group al-Shabab claimed accountability for the assault.
Witnesses stated the restaurant was full of folks, some on the sidewalk exterior, when the bomb went off, inflicting folks to scramble for security.
Mohamed Muse, one of many survivors, informed the BBC: “Within the first half of the sport we have been watching, we heard an enormous, horrible explosion. Everybody needed to discover a option to save themselves.”
“I noticed folks at risk, injured folks screaming for assist, others confused – it was horrific,” he added.
One other witness informed AFP that some folks within the cafe escaped by climbing ladders on the again and leaping over partitions.
Sunday’s explosion additionally destroyed some automobiles and broken a number of buildings.
Al-Qaeda member al-Shabaab reportedly stated they have been focusing on locations the place safety personnel and authorities employees collect at evening.
The realm is near Villa Somalia, the official presidential residence.
The jihadist group has been chargeable for quite a few bombings within the metropolis and different elements of Somalia over the previous 17 years.
Nevertheless, the state of affairs has fallen into calm in latest months amid a sustained offensive by Somali safety forces towards the group, which nonetheless controls a lot of the nation.
