MOGADISU (Reuters) – At least 20 people have been killed and 30 injured by a suicide car bomb in front of a restaurant near the port in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, late Friday, an emergency services official said.
The blast blew smoke from the sky and triggered gunfire, witnesses and state media reported.
“So far we have transported 20 dead and 30 injured from the scene of the explosion,” Dr. Abdulkadir Aden, founder of AAMIN ambulance services, told Reuters.
The blast occurred at the Luul Yemeni restaurant near the port, witnesses said.
“A speeding car exploded at the Luul Yemeni restaurant. I was going to the restaurant, but I ran back when the explosion shook and covered the area with smoke, “resident Ahmed Abdullahi, who lives near the site, told Reuters.
Radio Mogadishu, which is controlled by the state in Somalia, reported that there was also destruction of property and that police surrounded the area.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blast.
The Shabaab Islamist group frequently carries out such bombings in Somalia and elsewhere as part of its campaign to overthrow the Horn of the African country’s central government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.
Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; written by Elias Biryabarema; edited by Grant McCool