MOGADISHU, Somalia — An explosion and gunshots rocked a beachside hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, and security forces rushed to the scene, authorities and witnesses said Friday night.
The state-owned Somalia National News Agency said security forces had “neutralized the attackers.” There was no immediate information on deaths or injuries.
Al-Shabab, Al-Qaida’s East African affiliate, said on its radio that its fighters carried out the attack.
Lido Beach, a popular area of Mogadishu, is very lively on Friday nights as Somalis enjoy their weekend.
A witness, Mohamud Moalim, told The Associated Press in a phone call that he saw an attacker wearing an explosive vest moments before the man “detonated himself next to the hotel overlooking the beach.”
Moalim said some of his friends who were with him at the hotel were killed and others were injured.
Another witness, Abdisalam Adam, told the AP that he “saw many people lying on the ground” and had helped carry some injured people to the hospital.
The Lido Beach area has in the past been targeted by militants allied with al-Shabab. The most recent attack last year resulted nine people murdered.
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