Mogadishu, Somalia: A car bomb and suspected suicide bomber struck a popular restaurant in the Somali capital on Saturday, killing at least 15 people, Ahmed Nur, a senior police officer at the scene, told Reuters.
The blast underscored the ongoing security threats in Mogadishu, despite the withdrawal by Islamist militant group al Shabaab from the city in 2011 under military pressure.
It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack on the Village Restaurant, owned by well-known Somali businessman Ahmed Jama, who returned to his home country from London to set up business against the advice of friends.
In September last year two suicide bombers hit the same restaurant, killing at least 15 people.
Mohamed Yusuf, spokesman for the Mogadishu authorities, said that after the car bomb went off, a suicide bomber immediately blew himself up in the restaurant.
"First a car bomb exploded at the entrance of the restaurant, and when people converged inside a suicide bomber blew up himself," he said.
The blast underscored the ongoing security threats in Mogadishu, despite the withdrawal by Islamist militant group al Shabaab from the city in 2011 under military pressure.
It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack on the Village Restaurant, owned by well-known Somali businessman Ahmed Jama, who returned to his home country from London to set up business against the advice of friends.
Mohamed Yusuf, spokesman for the Mogadishu authorities, said that after the car bomb went off, a suicide bomber immediately blew himself up in the restaurant.
Advertisement
© Thomson Reuters 2013
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Policeman Among 3 Killed, 8 Injured In Colombia Car Bombing Anti Terror Agency Files Chargesheet Against 14th Accused In Coimbatore Blast Case Navy Warship INS Kolkata Carrying 35 Pirates, Caught Off Somalia, Reaches Mumbai Over 300 Indian Students Return Home As 105 Bangladeshis Die In Protests "Jindal Group Executive Showed Porn, Groped Me On Flight": Woman To NDTV Bangladesh Imposes Curfew, Deploys Military As 105 Die In Protests India Hints At Roles Of Pakistan, China That Could Undermine Shanghai Bloc Deadly Viper On The Rise: Bangladesh Grapples With Snake Crisis SBI Recruitment 2024: Registration Begins For 1,040 SCO Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.