On Tuesday this week, six people lost their lives in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu when a suicide bomber blew himself up. The bomber targeted a restaurant near a police station and caused the deaths of innocent souls.
Six People Killed in the Blast
Shortly after the blast went off, Somali’s police spokesman Sadik Ali told reporters in a WhatsApp message that an explosion had occurred at a restaurant. He said the blast happened near School Policio, commonly known to be a police academy. At the time, they didn’t know who has behind the attack. Mr. Sadik Ali added that he would give more details concerning the incident later on.
On the day of the blast, it was believed that the explosion had only caused two people’s deaths. Reporters were mainly relying on the information from nearby eyewitnesses. Later on, however, the police spokesman, as promised, revealed more details concerning the blast. He told reporters that six people, including the perpetrator of the act, had died in the bombing. The shrapnel from the explosion seriously injured the few that survived the blast.
The Recollections of the bombing of the Restaurant
A nearby shopkeeper Mohamed Ali witnessed the incident happen. Mohamed said police opened fire after the blast went off. He told reporters that he saw huge clouds of smoke rising above the restaurant when the incident transpired. Additionally, he said he saw several ambulances trying to reach the site in the city’s Hamar Jajab district near Mogadishu port. According to him, at least two people died from the blast.
Another witness, Mr. Mohamud Ahmed, gave his recollection of that day’s events. Mohamud Ahmed told reporters he remembered it was raining heavily before the bombing happened. The rain had sent a lot of people into the restaurant to seek shelter.
With the drastic change of weather, Mr. Ahmed had decided to make himself a cup of tea to help him keep warm. When his beverage was ready, he started sipping his drink and looked down, and that’s when the blast occurred. From there, he said he didn’t remember what happened. His head and legs had been hit by shrapnel from the explosion, which had given him a concussion.
The Al-Shabab Claims Responsibility
The Al-Shabab armed group, later on, claimed responsibility for the attack on the restaurant. The group has ties to the al-Qaeda terror group, which has caused numerous attacks in the past.
The Al-Qaeda-allied Islamist armed group regularly launches attacks on government officials, prominent businessmen, civilians as well as journalists in Somalia. Moreover, the group also carries out bombings in Mogadishu and elsewhere in Somalia as part of its campaign to topple the central government. The Al-Shabab terror group aims to establish its own rule in the horn of Africa country. They state their rule will be based on their strict interpretation of Islam’s sharia law.
In their relentless mission, the Al-Shabab has carried out numerous horrific attacks. Just last week, the group claimed to be accountable for another bombing carried out by a suicide bomber. The bomber detonated his device outside a mosque in the Somalian port city of Kismayo. The bombing caused the deaths of at least six people and injured 20.
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