NAIROBI (Reuters) – An explosion went off on a popular beach in the Somali capital late on Friday evening, Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire said.
The explosion occurred while residents were swimming on Liddo beach, causing deaths and injuries, Khaire said on his X account, without giving more details on the casualties, or who was behind it.
“I send my deepest condolences to the families, relatives and friends of those who were martyred in these explosions,” he said.
“The fact that the terrorist attack coincides with this night when the beach is the most congested shows the hostility of the terrorists to the Somali people.”
Videos posted on social media platform X showed bodies lying on the beach in the dark, with people scampering to safety.
Somali National Television said on X security forces had eliminated the attackers and medical personnel were responding to attend to those injured.
Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group has in the past claimed responsibility for similar attacks.
The group controlled a vast area of Somalia before being pushed back in government counteroffensives since 2022. However, the militants remain capable of launching significant attacks on government, commercial, and military targets.
(This story has been refiled to correct the year to 2022, instead of ‘last year’ in paragraph 8)
(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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