US condemns Mogadishu restaurant attack

The US has condemned the Banaadir Beach Restaurant attack Friday night which has so far claimed ten lives and injured several others.

In a statement, the US Mission to Somalia said the attack once again exemplified that innocent Somalis bear the brunt of Al-Shabaab’s vicious attack but noted they attackers will not succeed.

“The United States will continue to work with the people of Somalia, the Federal Government, and the Somali National Army to help them restore peace and security throughout the country,” the Mission said in a statement.

The attackers set off a car bomb at the Banadir restaurant at the city’s Lido beach before engaging security forces in a fight for several hours.

The casualties comprised six civilians, two members of the security forces and two of the attackers, Ali Abdullahi, a police officer, said on Friday.

Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab claimed the attack, which ended at around 3:00 a.m. local time, police said.

In a separate incident in Bardhere southern Somalia, a roadside bomb planted by al Shabaab militants injured 10 people, police said on Friday, raising the number of wounded from three initially.

Bardhere district commissioner and two other victims of the attack were Saturday flown to Mogadishu for treatment.