MOGADISHU, Somalia –At least six people were killed and seven others were also wounded on Friday in a suicide attack on a seafront restaurant in Lido beach of the capital Mogadishu.
Friday’s explosion struck Pescatore sea-food restaurant between Beach View and Ocean View hotels on Lido beach in Mogadishu, leaving six people dead, a witness said.
He says a suicide bomber blew himself up before moving inside to the restaurant.
Reliable sources say the main target was Somali police chief Abdi Hassan Mohamed, popularly known as Hajar, who was having a fast-breaking iftar meal with his relatives at the restaurant.
Mohamed escaped unharmed from the attack and then he was taken away by Somali special forces upon their arrival at the scene.
Al Shabab — an Al Qaeda — linked group has claimed the responsibility for the explosion.
The group says it had targeted government officials and other politicians, but it did not say how many they had killed or injured.
Lido beach area is home to several restaurants and hotels which are usually full on Friday nights – the end of the weekend in Somalia.
