5 dead as suicide bomber targets restaurant in Somali capital

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – At least five people were killed and six others wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a busy restaurant in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Friday, police said.

Somali police spokesman Sadik Aden Ali Doodishe told Anadolu over the phone: “A man wearing an explosive belt entered the restaurant and blew himself up. As of now, we can tell you that five people were killed.”

The attack took place near Somalia’s presidential palace in Mogadishu.

The eyewitnesses, who spoke to Anadolu over the phone, reported seeing multiple civilian casualties and heavy police presence at the bombing site.

The al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, the third in less than 24 hours.

It comes a day after several security personnel were wounded in a double car bombing in the central state of Galmudug.

The al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the twin bombing and said it targeted the regional presidential palace that houses Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

The group claimed that it had killed 16 soldiers and wounded 14 others.

Friday’s suicide bombing also comes six days after a truck bomb in Beledweyne town killed at least 18 people, including 10 security personnel, and wounded 40 others.

The Horn of Africa country has been plagued by insecurity for years, with the main threats emanating from al-Shabaab and the Daesh/ISIS terror groups.

Since 2007, the al-Shabaab terror group has been fighting the Somali government and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), a multidimensional mission authorized by the African Union and mandated by the United Nations Security Council.

The terror group has increased attacks since the Somali president, who was elected for a second term last year, declared an "all-out war" on al-Shabaab.