Gunmen were holding at least 20 people hostage in a restaurant in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, police said, after a suicide bomber rammed a car nearby and militants stormed inside in an attack claimed by Islamist al Shabaab militants.
“The fighters are still inside the Pizza House (restaurant) and they are holding over 20 people. We do not know how many of those are dead or alive,” said Major Ibrahim Hussein, a Mogadishu police officer.
Read: Somali, US forces hit Al-Shabaab training camp
![A damaged car is seen, after a bomb laden car parked near the Immigration and Citizenship Office exploded, at the explosion site in Mogadishu, Somalia on 8 May 2017. At least 10 people were reported dead. [Sadak Mohamed/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/20170508_2_23552936_21868745.jpg?resize=500%2C333&ssl=1)
A damaged car and broken shutters are seen after a bomb exploded in Mogadishu, Somalia on May 8, 2017 [Sadak Mohamed/Anadolu Agency]