3 Dead as Gunmen Attack Somali Beach Restaurant

Situation is ongoing; there may be hostages
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 21, 2016 2:32 PM CST
3 Dead as Gunmen Attack Somali Beach Restaurant
Somalis swim at Lido Beach as they celebrate the beginning of the muslim Eid al-Adha, or the "Feast of the Sacrifice", in Mogadishu, Somalia Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011.   (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

A suicide car bomber rammed the gates of a restaurant near a beach in Somalia's capital before gunmen fought their way into the building in an attack claimed by an Islamic extremist group that killed at least three people on Thursday, a police official said.The assailants may have taken some hostages inside the Liido Seafood restaurant, which is popular with Mogadishu's elite and government officials, Capt. Mohamed Hussein said. "The operation (to dislodge the attackers) is ongoing now. The (attackers) are still inside and fighting our troops," Hussein said from the scene of the attack as gunfire rang out in the background. He said he had counted at least three bodies outside the restaurant. An unknown number of people are still trapped inside the restaurant, he said.

Islamic extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the Mogadishu attack, in a broadcast on its online radio late Thursday. Witnesses said that gunmen shouted "Allahu akbar," the Arabic phrase for "God is great," and entered the restaurant from the direction of the beach as clients, sitting behind razor wire, watched the seashore. "They randomly fired at the people sitting near the beach before entering the restaurant," said witness Ahmed Nur, who was strolling along on the shoreline when the attack happened. Despite being pushed out of Somalia's major cities and towns, al-Shabab continues to launch deadly guerrilla attacks across the Horn of Africa country, including one last week on Kenyan peacekeepers. African Union troops, government officials, and foreigners are frequently targeted. (More Somalia stories.)

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