Somalia: car bomb kills five, injures 20 outside restaurant

A car bomb exploded outside a restaurant in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Sunday night, killing five and injuring 20 as patrons were watching the final of the Euro 2024 football tournament on TV, police said. Reuters has reported that the police are blaming Islamist insurgents.

The bomb destroyed 10 cars and damaged several buildings in a well-guarded area near the Presidential Palace, explained a Reuters reporter.

IN an announcement on an affiliated radio station, Al-Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that the bombing targeted a place where security and government workers meet at night.

The Islamist group, which once ruled much of Somalia, has been fighting for years to impose its strict interpretation of Islam on the country. The insurgents have launched frequent raids and deadly attacks in Mogadishu and other regions controlled by the federal government in the past two years, despite losing large swathes of territory to government forces and their allies.

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