U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyA suicide bomber and gunmen attacked a popular seaside spot in the Somali capital, killing at least 32 people and injuring many others, a police spokesman said on Saturday.
Abdifatah Adan Hassan said some 63 people were injured, some seriously.
Video footage shows numerous bodies and injured people in the Abu Diaziz district of Mogadishu.
Local media said the attack was carried out by al-Shabaab militants who control much of southern and central Somalia.
The group, affiliated with Al Qaeda, has been waging a brutal insurgency against the U.N.-backed government of Somalia for nearly 20 years.
One witness told AFP that people were in a state of panic because “it was difficult to know what was going on because the shooting started soon after the explosion”.
Abdilatif Ali said some people tried to take shelter on the ground while others tried to flee the location.
“I saw injured people on the beach. People were screaming in panic and it was difficult to notice who was dead and who was alive,” he added.
At least five people were responsible for the attack, and Hassan said one attacker blew himself up, killing three others.
A police spokesman told reporters in Mogadishu that one of the attackers was captured alive.
African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mohamed described the attack as “horrible” and “callous” and offered his deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones in the deadly attack on Lido Beach.
Abdul Khaliq Osman of Karkar Hospital said several people were being treated, with 11 of them being transferred to the operating room due to serious injuries, while some with less severe injuries were sent home after treatment.
