At least 25 dead and 30 injured in attack on a restaurant in Somalia

At least 25 people died today and 30 were injured in a suicide car bomb attack on a restaurant in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia Police officer Abshir Nur, who was in the area of ​​the attack, confirmed to Efe.

The attack hit the popular Lul Yemeni restaurant, which is located near the city’s port.

“Tonight a huge explosion affected a public restaurant in Mogadishu and resulted in the death of 25 people”, he told Efe Nur, that at first he estimated the deceased at 20, although that number increased to 25 after finding more bodies.

The Aamin ambulance service, quoted by local media, had also previously reported at least 20 deaths and 30 injuries.

These data contrast with those provided to journalists by police spokesman Sadaq Adan, who indicated that the preliminary investigation of the events shows at least 10 dead and more than 30 injured.

As a result of the loud explosion, “Several houses collapsed due to the magnitude of the explosion”Nur said, adding that a rescue operation has been activated and that the death toll could increase.

As it happens, the same restaurant was the target of another suicide attack in August last year, in which at least two people died and a third was injured.

The jihadist group Al Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack on Friday, according to the Somali media network Shabelle Media Network.

The ambassador of the European Union (EU) in Somalia, Spaniard Nicolás Berlanga, lamented the attack on his Twitter account.

“Again a deadly attack in Mogadishu with pain and devastation for innocent people. We express our sadness and solidarity with the victims and their families “Berlanga said.

The event occurred despite increased security in Mogadishu in anticipation of a demonstration called for tomorrow, Saturday, by an alliance of opposition leaders against the delay of the elections in the country, although that protest has been postponed.

The Somali capital frequently suffers attacks by Al Shabab, an Islamist organization affiliated with Al Qaeda since 2012 and which controls the rural areas of central and southern Somalia, a country in which it seeks to establish a Wahhabi-style (ultra-conservative) Islamic State.

Somalia has lived in a state of war and chaos since 1991, when the dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown, leaving the country without an effective government and in the hands of Islamist militias and warlords.