A car loaded with explosives was detonated at the gates of the Luul Yemeni restaurant near the port at around 8 pm local time (12:00 am Eastern time), Capt. Aden Osman, a senior police officer in the capital, confirmed to CNN.
The explosion was followed by heavy shots.
The powerful explosion caused the widespread destruction of several buildings and business centers in the area, added Osman. Aamin’s ambulance services confirmed that 30 people were injured in the bombing and were rushed to local hospitals.
“Plumes of white smoke covered the city after the massive explosion followed by gunfire,” witness Liban Yusuf said, adding that a building near the site had collapsed and a rescue operation was underway to evacuate people trapped in the rubble.
The terrorist group Al-Shabaab took responsibility for the attack through a statement posted on its affiliated websites.
It is the second attack on the same restaurant since August 2020. The latest explosion occurred amid strict security measures in Mogadishu, during a political crisis over a delayed election. The term of the country’s president, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, expired on February 8, without timely elections.
Al-Shabaab was expelled from the Somali capital in 2011 by forces from Somalia and the African Union, but the Islamic group has carried out car bombs and firearm attacks in the coastal city.