Agencies
Mogadishu
A car bomb has exploded outside a cafe in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, killing at least nine and injuring several others as patrons were watching the final of the Euro 2024 football tournament on TV, the government said.
The al-Qaeda-linked armed group, al-Shabab, has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s deadly attack via an affiliated radio station, saying the bombing targeted a place where security and government workers meet at night.
Mohamed Yusuf, an official from the national security agency, told AFP news agency on Monday that nine people have been killed in the incident, raising the official death toll of five given by the authorities late on Sunday.
"Nine civilians were killed and 20 others wounded in the explosion,” he said.
"There were many people inside the restaurant, most of them youth who were watching the football match… but thanks to God, most of them made their way out safely after using ladders to climb up and jump over the backside perimeter wall,” Yusuf added.
Images posted online showed a huge fireball and plumes of smoke billowing into the night sky as the explosion ripped through the popular restaurant in the centre of the city on Sunday.
Police officer Mohamed Salad had rushed to the scene a few minutes after the blast and told AFP that several bodies were discovered under the debris.
The bomb also destroyed 10 cars and damaged several buildings nearby in a well-guarded area near the presidential palace.
Despite losing large swaths of territory to government forces and their allies, al-Shabab has frequently launched raids and deadly attacks targeting the government.